Staff Reporter :
Natore Catholic priest identified as Father Walter William Rozario, 40, disappeared from the district’s Boraigram Upazila on Monday, ahead of Pope Francis visit to Bangladesh.
A hectic search for Rozario, started the same day with the reporting of his missing, police said.
“He has been missing since late Monday. His cell phone set has been switched off,” said a senior Police Officer, adding Police has been trying to trace him.
The family received an unidentified phone call from Rozario’s number demanding ransom, but perhaps, it was a hoax.
Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi, said, “William Rosario was organising a fleet of about 300 Catholics to travel to Dhaka to call on the Pope and to attend his assembly. But situation has changed. They now may not go to Dhaka ,” he said.
They have not ruled out the possibility of abduction by the militants who committed similar things in the past.
“William Rozario was scheduled to each his workplace, Jonail Catholic Church, on Monday afternoon after leaving his residence at Bonpara Christian Palli, but he did not, said Father Subroto Purification, head priest of the church.
Father Purification has filed a general diary in this connection with Boraigram police station on Tuesday.
“Rozario’s brother Premal said, they suspected that he was kidnapped.
The Pope´s visit is a matter of honour for us. We are organising the highest level of security for him,” police spokeswoman Sahely Ferdous told The New Nation on Wednesday.
Pope Francis arrives in Bangladesh Thursday (Nov 30) on the first visit to the country by the head of the Catholic Church in 31 years.
The visit will be dominated by the plight of more than 6,20,000 Rohingya Muslims who left Myanmar for security reason and took refuge in Bangladesh.
