Joynal Abedin Khan :
The incident of abduction has marked a sharp rise in recent days creating panic among the people in capital Dhaka and elsewhere across the country.
The prime reason of kidnapping is to realise ransom, followed by murder in most of the cases. Once the ransom is paid, the majority of the victims are killed so that their abductors cannot be identified, intelligence sources said.
The latest victims of the horrific crimes involved four children of a village at Bahubal in Habiganj district
The bodies of four schoolchildren were recovered from under a heap of soil in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj district on Wednesday morning, five days after their abduction from a local playground.
At least 66 persons were abducted across the country in January while the number was 57 in December and 50 in November of last year, police sources said.
According to Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum, a children rights group, an enormous number of 1,085 children were killed in the past four years, a significant number of whom became victims of kidnapping.
Similar other human rights organizations say, in January 2016, at least 29 kids were murdered. Of them, four were murdered after abduction, bodies of six children were recovered after missing and three killed by their relatives. The rest 16 were killed either by criminals or their classmates.In Laxmipur, miscreants reportedly abducted a female SSC examinee from Afjal Road area in Chandraganj Bazar of Sadar upazila on Tuesday afternoon.
Assistant Police Super (Circle) Md Nasim Mia said that a gang of miscreants forcibly picked up Fatema-tuz-Zohra, a student of Amani Laxmipur Begum Hamida Girls High School at gunpoint when she was retuning home on a CNG-run auto-rickshaw after appearing at Mathematics examination at Pratapganj High School centre.
Meanwhile, Police on Monday recovered the body of a local leader of Jubo League from a water body at Laxmidar Para in Ramganj upazila, six days after he went missing.
In Dhaka, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin Mofizul Islam, 50, was allegedly abducted from Mohakhali in Dhaka on February 19. The family of the victim has filed a case with Kafrul Police Station in this connection..
Police also recovered decomposed body of a man who went missing on February 12 from Keraniganj. The victim has been identified as Hiron Sheikh, 40.
Police arrested two persons on charge of abduction of a baby from Gazipur and Gaibadha districts on February 15. They also rescued Sumon, 6, during the drive after 40 days of his missing.
On the other hand, a man went missing in the city’s Mugda area on February 1. The victim was dentified as Wahidur Rahman, 35, hailing from Laxmipur district.
In Keraniganj, the victim M Abdullah, 11, a class five student, whose body was recovered from a plastic drum at a house in Mugarchar area four days after his abduction on February 1.
A day ago of the Keraniganj incident, bodies of three kidnapped children were recovered from Tangail and Rangpur. The dead are Shakil Miah, 11, Imran Hossain, 12, and Rahimul Islam Rawnak, 4.
In Gazipur, the body of a four-year-old boy was recovered from Kashimpur Surabari area two days after his abduction from Gazipur on February 16. Solaiman, son of Mokarram Hossain Akmat of Bhenuarchar area, went missing two days ago.
In Bandarban, law enforcers’ recovered the body of a man from Shidhui Jiri area in Alikadom upazila of the district on February 12, two days after his alleged abduction. The deceased is Borhan Uddin, 55, of Pan Bazar area in the upazila.
In Tangail, two boys were found dead at Haora Kamarpara village in Mirzapur upazila on Friday 12, two days after their ‘kidnapping’. Police recovered the bodies of Imran, 11, son of Abu Bakar, and Shakil, 10, son of Delwar Hossain.
In Jessore, a madrasa girl was found dead from Singher Kajura village in Monirampur upazila of Jessore on January 6 after three days of her abduction. The deceased was identifies as Lima Khatun, 14, daughter of Shahidul Islam, and a Class IX student of Nengurahat Women’s Madrasa in the area.
In Noakhali, pirates have kidnapped 16 fishermen from the Gas Field area of the Bay of Bengal in Hatiya upazila on Janury 13. The victims hail from Jahajmara Katakhali of the upazila.
In Narayanganj, a child, missing for 14 days, has been found dead in a pond in the district February 23. The Four-year-old Mairunnessa was identified through her clothing at an industrial estate by Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) at Pachabati on February 22.
In Dinajpur, an abducted youth’s body was found in Birampur upazila in the district on February 23 after 12 days of missing.
“Creating public awareness about risks to children would prevent opportunities for kidnappings. It was easier for a relative or a friend than a stranger to have access to a child. In most cases, the children are lured away with chocolates or food,” said Abdus Shahid Mahmood, Director of Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum.
Nazrul Islam, Deputy Inspector General (Media) of Police said that the law enforcers are trying to reduce the abduction and other crimes incidents.
A good number of abducted people have already been rescued by conducting separate drives after getting complaints from members of the victim families, the police official said.
