Two missing Gaibandha Awami League leaders 'remember nothing' on return

Two Awami League leaders, who had gone missing after being allegedly abducted from Gaibandha's Sadullapur, are back but they say they do not remember much about their time in captivity.

Sadullapur Upazila Juba League Vice-President Monwarul Hasan Mondol and Damodarpur Union's former Bangladesh Chhatra League leader Sadequl Islam Sadeq returned home in the wee hours of Thursday.

They were allegedly picked up by a group of men on Jan 9, 10 days after the murder of Awami League MP Manjurul Islam Liton in adjacent Sundarganj Upazila.

Both initially refused to speak to journalists.

After being prodded, both said they were driven in a microbus and let go by a group of men on the midnight of Wednesday.

They were released at a desolate place near Nilphamari's Syedpur town where they found their own motorbikes waiting for them.

They were ordered to keep driving straight.

After a while they came across a signboard on an establishment from which they inferred that they were let go somewhere near the Dhaka-Dinajpur Highway.

They said none of their belongings was stolen. They, however, said they were kept blindfolded and handcuffed throughout the stay.

Monwar said they were given a good bath, served good food and asked to seek atonement after saying prayers two days after the abduction.

Sadullapur Police Station OC Farhad Imrul Qayes told bdnews24.com  they have heard about the return of the duo but know nothing of how they obtained release.

He said police are on the lookout to trace another two local politicians - Awami League leader Maidul Islam Prince and Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal's Shafiul Islam Shapla - who went missing on the day after the abduction of Monwarul and Sadeq.