The Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) and Chittagong district police have formed separate committees to collect information about people who have gone missing in the last two years. The law enforcers are collecting information from police stations about missing persons for whom general diaries (GDs) have been filed by their family members. They are involving local union parishad chairpersons, ward council members, village police and ward commissioners to obtain information about those missing youths for whom no GD has been filed by anyone. Rezaual Masud, additional superintendent (Special Branch) of Chittagong district police, disclosed this to The Independent yesterday.
Chittagong district police formed a 23-member committee headed by Muhammad Reazual Masud, additional superintendent of police (Special Branch), while CMP formed a seven-member committee headed by Nazmul Hasan, additional deputy police commissioner (Detective Branch–port) of CMP on July 5. The Chittagong district police have prepared a list of five students who went missing in the last six months. Now they are trying to identify their whereabouts and also to ascertain if they were involved with any militant group.
“According to information gathered from 16 police stations, five students went missing in the last six months. We're trying to find their whereabouts. We're preparing another list of those who went missing in the last one-and-a-half years,” said Muhammad Reazual Masud, additional superintendent (Special Branch) of the Chittagong district police.
“Of the five missing youths, two went missing from Raozan upazila, two from Chandanaish upazila, and one from Patiya upazila,” he said.
“If anyone goes missing, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are militants. We're checking the whereabouts of the missing students and trying to find out if they were involved with militant activities,” he added.
“We've received separate lists from 16 police stations of the city. The list is being checked thoroughly. We've not yet prepared a final list of the total number of missing youths. We're preparing a list of youths who have been missing for the last two years,” said CMP additional police commissioner (crime and operations) Devdas Bhattacharya.
Chittagong district police said the two missing students of Raozan upazila have been identified as Md Farhad, 13, son of Mohammad Ali of Uttor Sotta village, and Md Amran Hossain, 14, son of Mohammad Younus, hailing from Natun para of Betbunia police station of Rangamati district.
Farhad was a student of Hazrat Abdul Quader Hephajakhana and Atimkhana of Haldia union parishad of Raozan. He went missing from February 8 this year.
Younus was a student of Gohira FKM Jame-ul Ulum Kalim Madrasha. He went missing from the Madrasha hostel on October 25, 2015.
Another student, Md Jashim, son of Abul Bashar, has remained missing for two years. Chandanaish police said he was a Chhatra Shibir activist and an accused in a case of sabotage.