Police suspect militants hand in disappearance of madrasa boy
Habibullah Mizan
Law enforcement agencies suspect the involvement of militants in the mysterious disappearance of a 12-year-old madrasa student from Nabinagar Housing area under Mohammadpur police station in the city. Hailing from a slum at Lohargate area under Mohammadia Homes, Md Monsurul Haque, son of Md Anisul Haque and Jhohura Begum, went missing on the morning of August 12. Family members lodged a general diary with Mohammadpur police station on August 13.
Zane Alam Munshi, officer-in-charge (investigation), of the police station told The Independent that sub-inspector Bulbul Ahmed was investigating the case. Talking to The Independent on Thursday evening, Zane Alam Munshi said: Ive got the numbers from which the victims family received phone calls demanding ransom money.
On a visit to the Madinatul Ulum Madrassa, this correspondent learnt that the Madrassa had three teachers for only six students. There are at least 50 Madrassas and most of these are operating from rented houses.
Locals said they had seen many people in these Madrassas who do not stay for a long time. Some of them even come in the dead of night, they said.
During the investigation, The Independent came to know that before the boy disappeared, he had bought a laptop.
Mufti Enamul Haque and Maolana Abdul Maleq, both hailing from Bhola district, set up the small madrasa after renting three rooms in a three-storied building at Holding No. 5, Road No. 6 at Nabinagar Housing in the citys Mohammadpur area around two years ago.
Mufti Enamul Haque told Monshur to keep the laptop hidden at his slum, saying that police might raid the madrasa. He also warned the boy not to tell anybody, even his mother, about the laptop. If your mother sees the laptop, tell her not to disclose it, Mufti Enamul warned Monshur. However, he shared all this with his mother and with Rifat, another student.
Two days after the mysterious disappearance, Mufti Enamul sent Hafez Abu Bakar Siddique, a student, who also hails from Mufti Enamuls native district Bhola, to get the laptop back.
While talking to this correspondent, Hafez Abu Bakar admitted that he had brought the laptop from the house of the missing Monshur.
Boro Hojur (Mufti Enamul) told me to bring it and I brought the laptop and handed it over to him, Hafez Abu Bakar added.
Replying to a question, he said, Shohrab Hossain, a friend of Mufti Enamul, who stayed in the madrasa for a few months and left after Ramadan, brought the laptop.
He also said: Shohrab told us that he was a student of Baitul Falah Madrassa, which is located at Shah Shuri road in the citys Mohammadpur area.
Maolana Abdul Maleq, co-founder of the madrasa, first claimed that there was no laptop at their madrasa. But when this correspondent told him about what Hafez Abu Bakar had said, he immediately changed his position, and admitted that there was indeed a laptop at the madrasa, and that laptop had been kept in the house of the missing Monshur.
Though he claimed that he and Mufti Enamul did not know how to use laptops, many students and neighbours who also live at the same building, told this correspondent that the two teachers were seen using a laptop at night.
About the statement of his students over using laptops, he again changed his position, saying, After Shorab left the laptop with us, Mufti Enamul Haque sometimes used the laptop.
Mufti Enamul Haque, however, was not present at the madrasa and spoke to this correspondent over phone. When asked why he left the madrasa abruptly, he claimed that his wife was sick, and he had gone to his village home at Bhola district. But he did not say how seriously ill his wife was.
About the laptop which was kept in the house of the missing Monshur, Mufti Enamul Haque said, I kept the laptop in Monshurs house because it might get stolen by the students in the madrasa.
When asked why he felt it safe to keep the laptop at a house in the slum instead of their madrasa, he could not give any answer.
When Saiful Islam, maternal uncle of the missing boy, and his sister Jhora Begum went to OC Zane Alam and SI Bulbul Ahmed, the investigating officer, they initially did not attach much importance to the incident.
But when they told the cops about the laptop, a police team, led by SI Bulbul, raided the madrasa and seized some documents along with some mobile SIM cards. However, they did not search the locked trunks, as the key suspect, Mufti Enamul, was not present.
Some detective officials who work on anti-militancy drives across the city, said: We suspect that there is a relationship between the missing boy and the laptop.
Its quite unbelievable that Mufti Enamul had kept the laptop with Monshur only for its safety, said a counter-terrorism expert, who requested not to be named.
If the laptop is recovered, we will send it to the laboratory of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for forensic test of the hard disk, he said.
Even if any data were deleted from the hard disk, it is not impossible to restore them using sophisticated technology, he said.
Besides, if the missing boy is found, many mysteries would be solved, he said, adding that it was not impossible that the boy is currently with the militant recruiters.
It is also clear that Mufti Enamul has militant connections, he opined.
About the phone calls demanding ransom from the victims family members, the detective officials said, It might be only to divert attention in the case.
