“Missing” Rahima went into hiding willingly: PBI

Rahima Begum, the mother of Moriom Mannan, who was rescued after remaining missing for nearly a month, had not been abducted. She had gone into hiding willingly, said Police Bureau of Investigation.

PBI also said that they found discrepancies in the statement Rahima gave at the court after being found.

"We have verified Rahima's statement given in the court under section 22. We have already found the abduction narrative to be false," said Syed Mushfiqur Rahman, superintendent of police (SP) of PBI Khulna.

Preliminary investigation suggests that she may have done this to implicate her neighbours with whom she had a dispute regarding a piece of land, the SP added.

If the case filed over the disappearance of Rahima does not prove to be true after a full investigation, then actions will be taken against the plaintiff according to the law, said the SP adding that, the arrestees in the case, if found innocent in the investigation, can go for legal action.

The SP also stated that, Rahima went to stay at the house of Quddus Molla at Saidpur village of Faridpur's Boalmari to get an ID card and birth registration, so she can work in Bandarban and stay hidden. 

Besides Quddus Molla's place, Rahima stayed at the house of one Moni Begum in Bandarban's Islampur village while she was reportedly missing.

To Moni Begum, Rahima said that her permanent address was in Saidpur village of Faridpur. One of her sons studied at Dhaka University and a daughter died at the age of one-month. 

"But there is no truth to any of this," the SP also said.

"She took work at Moni Begum's restaurant in Bandarban area. The hotel owner offered her a job in a local camp. But she needed a birth certificate and NID card for that job. So, she went to Saidpur to acquire NID," the PBI official added.

PBI Inspector Abdul Mannan, also the investigation officer of the case, also said that the information given by Rahima is misleading. 

The IO visited Quddus's house on September 27.

"I went to Boalmari to verify Rahima Begum's statement. Rahima's statement given in the court was different from what she said while staying there," the police official said adding that, Rahima told Quddus's family that she had a fight with her husband and daughters, which is not similar to her statement in the court.

Abdul Mannan will go to Bandarban next in order to verify information given by Rahima, he added.

"Besides, by Chattogram Hill Tracts, Rahima meant Bandarban in her statement. She said that she came to Dhaka by train from the Chattogram Hill Tracts. But, we know there is no railway line in Bandarban," the IO also said.

On August 27, Rahima Begum went missing from her house at Maheshwarpasha in Daulatpur upazila of Khulna, alleged Moriom Mannan and her siblings. They did not find their mother after searching at all possible places that night. Then they filed a general diary.   Rahima's daughter Adoori Akhter filed the case with Daulatpur Police Station on August 28.

During the investigation police and Rab arrested six people till September 12. 

On September 14, the court ordered PBI to take charge of the investigation.

On September 24, police found out Rahima from the house of Quddus Molla's house in Faridpur. When she was produced before the court the next day, she gave a statement claiming to have been abducted. Following her statement, court released her in the custody of one of her daughters.