Sohel Taj’s missing nephew found in Mymensingh

Police have found Syed Iftekhar Alam Shourav, a nephew of former state minister for home affairs Sohel Taj, in Mymensingh, 11 days after he went missing from Chattogram.

An unidentified car dropped Shourav in front of a rice mill in Tarakanda Upazila in Mymensingh at 5:15 am Thursday, said Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shahidullah of the police’s counterterrorism unit.

"We informed the MP from Myemensingh of the matter over the telephone. He personally went to the spot to receive him. Shourav is being sent to his family in Dhaka's Banani."

But Superintendent of Myemensingh Police Shah Abid Hossain was unable to provide information on those who were behind the alleged abduction or Shourav's whereabouts over the last 11 days.

Addressing a media briefing on Thursday, he said, Shourav is doing well and there were no external signs of any injury. He was given a meal before being transported back to his family in Banani.

Shourav's father Syed Idris Alam said, "Police have informed us that Shourav has been found in Myemensingh. He is being brought back to Dhaka under police protection. He has become very weak physically."

The 26-year-old Shourav had been living with his parents in the port city's Panchlaish area. He graduated from Dhaka's Independent University before joining a school in Chattogram as a teacher. He was last seen in front of Panchlaish's Afmi Plaza on Jun 9.

His family alleged that Shourav was abducted by plainclothesmen over his relationship with a businessman’s daughter.

Sohel Taj suspects that officials of a public agency have a hand in the incident.

On Jun 17, Sohel Taj held a media briefing along with Shourav's parents Syeda Yasmin Arjuman and Syed Idris Alam at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity to call for his safe return.

The former Gazipur-4 MP sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's intervention to ensure that Shourav was returned alive and unharmed.

Syeda Yasmin told the media briefing, Shourav received a phone call on the afternoon of Jun 8. He was told to ready his credentials for a job opportunity. He was called again the next day and told to wait in front of Agora in Chattogram's Mimi Super Market.

"Our son left with the necessary documents and his passport at 7pm but never came back. His mobile phone was switched off."

He had received threats of being picked up a few times before over his relationship with the businessman's daughter, it was alleged in the media briefing.

Asked about the matter at media briefing on Jun 18, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said he was hopeful that Shourav would be found soon, adding that the police were working towards that end.

Later on Thursday morning, Sohel Taj went on Facebook Live and said that Shourav had been found.

Shourav's mother received a phone call at 5:27 am and was told that a car had dropped him off by the side of a road, said the former state minister.

Sohel Taj later contacted Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shahidullah of the police’s counterterrorism unit, who in turn informed the Superintendent of Myemensingh Police . The superintendent then personally brought Shourav into the safe custody of the police.

Thanking everyone for their support during the ordeal, Sohel Taj said he hoped that such incidents will not occur in future.

Superintendent Shah Abid told reporters that workers of Jamir Rice Mills informed Shourav’s family after he was dropped in front of the factory.

On Shourav’s current state, the superintendent said, “He is healthy right now. I can’t say much more right now as the situation hasn’t allowed us to speak with him. He said he will talk later.”

Asked whether Shourav divulged any information on his whereabouts over the last 11 days, Shah Abid said, “He can’t tell where he was. But he was being held. That’s all he said.”

Asked about the people who had dropped him off in Myemensingh, he said, “This is a matter of investigation.”