Several in RAB’s missing persons list found

Ten persons among those named as missing by the Rapid Action Battalion have been traced so far, raising doubts about the authenticity of a list of 271 missing individuals it has released.

News DeskNews deskbdnews24.com
Published : 20 July 2016, 02:32 PM
Updated : 21 July 2016, 05:40 AM

Among them, Md Rahmatullah is in Rajshahi prison, a bdnews24.com inquiry has found.

A student of Rajshahi University, his name was 215th on the list.

Saidul Islam of Bogra’s Dhunat Upazila, the man whose name tops the list, has told bdnews24.com he works in an office in Dhaka.

Eight of 11 in Feni had also been found, local police officials said.

The government started gathering information on individuals missing for some time after investigations showed that several of the attackers involved in recent terror strikes had been missing for months.

Rahmatullah is a third-year student of Crop Science and Technology at the public university. He is from Nilphamari’s Kishoreganj Upazila.

A suspect for the murder of Rajshahi University teacher AFM Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, he was arrested and sent to prison on May 17, said Inspector Rezaul Sadique of the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police’s (RMP) detective branch.

“He was also taken to three days remand. He is in Rajshahi Jail now,” said Sadique, the investigating officer in the murder of the professor by suspected militants in April.

But Nurul Alam, a teacher from his department reported him missing at Motihar Police Station on May 14.

He said Rahmatullah left the university the day before, saying he needed to visit a sick relative. He did not return, and his cell phone has been switched off, the teacher told police. 

He was staying at Room-107 of the Mother Baksh Hall.

The fact that he was in jail was revealed when RMP Commissioner Md Shamsuddin gave a brief about the police’s investigation of the murder of professor Rezaul Karim Siddiquee.

The other person, Saidul Islam, told bdnews24.com his wife had filed a general diary with Banani police on Jun 14after he was abducted by local miscreants.

He said they freed him after holding him captive for two days.

“I got the news and went to the Banani Police Station to withdraw the GD. I am still working as an office staff at Bank Asia’s Paltan Branch.”

Meanwhile, OC Mizanur Rahman of the Dhunat Police Station said they had confirmed Saidul’s whereabouts.

Among the missing persons from Bogra, one Sujon of Gabtoli Thana’s Telihara village, has been missing since Mar 28, 2016.

“We have talked to 12 families that have members named Sujon. They said none of them were missing. But we are still looking.”

One Siyam, the 18-year-old son of Akbar Dhali from Dinajpur’s Ajimilon village, is also on the list.

An 11th grader at Bogra’s Shah Sultan College, he lived in a rented house at Uttar Shakpala of Shahjahanpur.

He is said to have been missing since Oct 11, 2015.

Shahjahanpur Police Station OC Masud Chowdhury told bdnews24.com, “We still have no trace of a person named Siyam. We are looking everywhere.”

Police complaint or GD had been filed over eight of the 11 missing in Feni.

Seven of them in Feni’s Sadar Upazila have so far been found, Feni Model Police Station OC Mahbub Morshed said.

He also said they were either at home or at their workplaces.

Another youth, Md Forkan Chowdhury, in Feni’s Parshuram had been found and is now at home, Parshuram Police Station OC Abul Kashem said.

The seven found in Sadar are Md Sakhawat Hossain, 18, Kazi Mohibul Islam, 34, Omar Faruq, 25, Md Israfil, ‘Ashik’, Taiful Islam and Rezaur Rahman Razu.

RAB spokesperson Mufti Mahmud Khan, in his reaction, told bdnews24.com, “Out list is based on information we got from various police stations.”

“And if someone from the list is found or comes back, we will contact the police station concerned and update the list.”