60-yr-old missing from Mirpur for a month

A wood trader has been missing from the capital’s Mirpur area for a month, his family alleged yesterday, blaming a Rab official’s involvement over prior enmity behind the abduction.

Ismail Hossain, 60, went missing on June 19 after he came out of his shop in Shah Ali area to have lunch around 2:30pm, according to a general diary filed with Shah Ali Police Station on June 20.

His wife Nasrin Jahan held a press conference at Dhaka Reporter’s Unity yesterday, and demanded her husband’s safe return. Their two children were also present at the press conference.

Nasrin said Ismail’s mobile phone has been found switched off since the day he went missing. Family members looked for him everywhere, but he was not to be found. She alleged that a Rab official was behind his husband’s abduction, following a case against Ismail.

Hailing from Bajitpur of Kishoreganj, Ismail was accused in a murder case of the Rab official’s father in 1986.

“He was released by court in that case. But they still suspect my husband was involved in the murder,” Nasrin said.

Before Ismail went missing, he told his wife that was being threatened over the matter. He also wanted to file a GD. But he went missing before he could do so, the wife said.

“The investigation officer told us that the CCTV camera on the spot from where he went missing was not functional from 2:11pm to 4pm,” Nasrin added.

The family said they informed the matter to the home minister and the Rab director general through letters, but to no avail.

The official in question, a director of one of the elite force’s wings, did not respond to phone calls for comment, despite several attempts.

Lt Col Emranul Kabir, Rab’s legal and media wing director, said they would look into it if someone files a specific complaint.

Salahuddin Mia, officer-in-charge of Shah Ali Police Station, said, “We talked to him about the allegation. We did not find his involvement in the incident.” 

Police are continuing search for the missing sawmill trader.