Home minister credits security agencies as some missing people return

The home minister has credited the law enforcers for the some of the missing people resurfacing recently despite no visible police action to find them.

“I would say they have returned because the law-enforcing agencies were active. Our law enforcers and intelligence agencies are working on these cases,” Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters on Friday.

The home minister faced questions from the journalists on the issue at a programme in Dhaka after the return of Mubashar Hasan Caesar.

According to legal rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra, 55 people have been reported missing this year.

Ten of them, who have returned weeks after going missing, say their captors confined them to a room, provided food regularly and dropped them off blindfolded at the time of their release.

No one could identify the abductors.

The latest person to return is North South University teacher Caesar.

After returning home early on Friday, he said he had been ‘kidnapped for money’.

Journalist Utpal Das resurfaced on Tuesday and gave a similar account.

Businessman Aniruddha Roy claimed he was a ‘victim of vengeance’ on return on Nov 18.

All the families of the missing people informed the law enforcers about the incidents, but police could neither rescue them nor identify the abductors and their motives.

“We have not questioned them yet. We will be able to tell you how and why they had disappeared after questioning them,” Minister Kamal said.

Earlier, he had alleged that some people went into hiding themselves to embarrass the government.

The human-rights organisations have pointed finger at the law enforcers, alleging 'enforced disappearance.' 

Many of the families of the missing people also claimed people posing as members of law-enforcing agencies had picked them up.    

The government and the law enforcers have denied the allegation.

But recently, a senior police officer, speaking about their activities to tackle militancy, said the law enforcers ‘have to play some tricks in teasing out information after catching militants’.