Staff Reporter :
Families on Tuesday demanded the return of their four youths who according to them were allegedly picked up by plainclothes men before of the General Election held on Sunday.
They sought justice and whereabouts of the missing students at the press conference held in the Crime Reporters Association of Bangladesh (CRAB) in the city’s Segunbagicha area around on Tuesday Morning.
The “missing students” are Abu Khaled Mohammad, 25, third year student of Bangla at Asian University, Borhan Uddin, 26, English student of Stamford University, Rezaul Khalek, 24, final year student of Pharmacy of Manarat University and Dr Syed Maminul Hasan, 27, former student of Dhaka’s Unani Ayurvedic Medical College.Jabed is the son of Abu Yusuf Mohammad Idris of Nabipur village in Senbag upazila of Noakhali, Borhan is son of Abdul Motaleb of Hasanpur village in Charfashion upazila of Bhola and Rezaul is son of Abdul Khaleqe of Boalia village in Aminpur Thana of Pabna, and Dr Mominul is son of Syed Md Alamgir of Uzirpur village under Uzirpur upazila of Barisal.
Yasin Karim, Jabed’s brother-in-law, who read out a written statement, said the incident took place on December 29, while Jabed and four of his friends were returning home by bus from Shahbag. Some plainclothes police officers intercepted the bus in the Farmgate area and picked up four of them, leaving the fifth student untouched because he was sitting in the near of the bus.
“We came to know about the matter from the one who was left in the bus by policemen,” he said.
After receiving the news, we have tried to contact Tejgaon police station and adjacent stations, different law enforcement agencies but they denied the matter. Two days elapsed but the detainees have not been produced before a court as the law requires, Yasin said.
“In this circumstances, we are very concerned about their safety. We have received news from various trusted sources that they are, in fact, being held in police custody. Police’s refusal to confirm their detention worries us. It cannot be a responsible thing for the police administration to do, and it is a complete violation of the law.”
Jabed’s younger brotherAbu Hasnat, who was also present at the press conference, said Jabed and his friends are not involved in any kind of crime as far as their families are concerned.
Rezaul’s father Abdul Khaleqe and Mominul’s elder brother Syed Idrak were also present at the press conference.
They sought the attention of the authorities concerned, about the matter, and demanded safety for their closest ones. They have also demanded a fair trial of the students if they are found to be involved in crime.
