Find out 'missing' Rangpur PP within 48hrs

Different social-cultural organisations in Rangpur yesterday threatened to paralyse the district if the government fails to rescue the "missing" special public prosecutor Rathish Chandra Bhowmik within 48 hours.   

The announcement came from a human chain formed in front of Rangpur Press Club in the morning. 

Rangpur unit of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad; Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Oikya Parishad; Sammilito Sangskritik Jote; and Group Theatre Federation, jointly organised the human chain demanding immediate rescue of the missing lawyer.

Advocate Rathish Chandra Bhowmik, 55, who represented the state in cases over the murder of Japanese national Hoshi Kunio and Rahmat Ali, khadem (caretaker) of a shrine, has been "missing" since Friday morning. 

In the human chain, Rangpur district Awami League (AL) president Momotaz Uddin Ahmed, AL general secretary of Rangpur city unit Tushar Kanti Roy, Puja Udjapan Parishad's Rangpur district President Bonomali Pal and General Secretary Swapan Kumar Roy, and its city unit President Komol Majumdar and General Secretary Subrata Sarkar Mukul, among others, spoke.

After the human chain, the protesters marched towards the office of Rangpur deputy commissioner (DC) and handed over a memorandum to DC Enamul Habib.

After receiving the memorandum, the DC told the demonstrators that his office had been trying hard to rescue the missing lawyer. He spoke to the home ministry yesterday morning over the issue, informed the DC.

Meanwhile, the lawyers in the district also observed a full day work abstention. Around noon, they formed a human chain in front of DC office.

Students and teachers of Lions School and College in Rangpur formed another human chain in front of the school on GL Roy road in Rangpur city around noon. They also handed over a memorandum to the DC.

Rathish was the PP of the cases filed over the murder of Japanese national Hoshi Kunio and Khadem Rahmat Ali on October 3 and November 10 in 2015 respectively.

The special judge court of Rangpur sentenced five members of militant Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) to death in Japanese national Hoshi Kunio murder case on February 28 last year. The same court convicted seven JMB militants to death for killing Khadem Rahmat Ali on March 18 this year.

After the judgments, he received death threats several times.

NO PROGRESS SO FAR

Police could not make any major progress in rescuing Rathish till filing of the report as of 7:30pm yesterday.

Khandakar Golam Faruk, deputy inspector general (DIG) of police (Rangpur range), visited Rathish's family yesterday afternoon.

He informed the family that police had been trying their level best to rescue him unhurt.

Around 6:00am on Friday, a man wearing punjabi-pajama visited him at their residence in Alamnagar Babu Para area, said Rathish's wife Dipa Bhowmik. 

Rathish hurriedly finished his work and left home riding the unidentified man's motorcycle, saying he would return home by noon.

Around 7:00am, his wife phoned him but his mobile phone was found switched off. She again rang him around 3:00pm and this time too found it off.

Shusanta Bhowmik, brother of Rathish, informed the matter to police on Friday night and filed a general diary with Rangpur Sadar Police Station on Saturday.