Staff Reporter :
Police have found Syed Iftekhar Alam Shourav, a nephew of former State Minister for Home Affairs Sohel Taj, in Mymensingh, 11 days after he went missing from Chattogram.
An unidentified car dropped Shourav in front of Jamir Rice Mills at Bottola Bazar in Tarakanda Upazila of Mymensingh at 5:15 am Thursday, said Mohammad Shahidullah, Deputy Commissioner of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit of Mymensingh.
Sohel Taj confirmed this through facebook live around 6:00am on Wednesday.
“Some people phoned my cousin from a location and said some people threw out a young man from a vehicle and fled immediately. Those men took him to their work place,” he said in the facebook live. “Later our family members contacted the DC of police’s counter-terrorism unit. The DC contacted the superintendent of police (SP) of that area. SP Abid Hasan himself rescued Sourav from the spot and took him under police custody. Sourav is being brought to Dhaka,” Sohel Taj added.
Sohel Taj thanked the people and police for their support in rescuing his nephew. “We’ve found Sourav. He is returning to us. Together we’ve saved the life of one person at least. We hope such incidents won’t take place anymore. I hope those who have not been returned to their parents will return.”
In a facebook live on Wednesday noon Sohel Taj said, a phone call had come from Sourav’s WhatsApp ID to his mother’s number at 2:20am Wednesday.
Sourav’s mother Syeda Yesmin Arjuman and his father Md Idris Ali also took part in the live with him.
Sourav’s parents said the call had come from his WhatsApp ID at 2:20am but none talked to us. The number was kept on but no one received the call. We sent SMS to his number too.
“We informed the MP from Myemensingh of the matter over the telephone. He personally went to the spot to receive him. Shourav is being sent to his family in Dhaka’s Banani, he said.
Superintendent of Myemensingh Police Shah Abid Hossain was unable to provide information on those who were behind the alleged abduction or Shourav’s whereabouts during the missing time.
Addressing a media briefing on Thursday, he said, Shourav is doing well and there were no external signs of any injury. He was given a meal before being transported back to his family in Banani.
Shourav’s father Syed Idris Alam said, “Police have informed us that Shourav was in Myemensingh. He is being brought back to Dhaka under Police protection. He has become very weak physically.”
The 26-year-old Shourav had been living with his parents in the port city’s Panchlaish area. He graduated from Dhaka’s Independent University before joining a school in Chattogram as a teacher. He was last seen in front of Panchlaish’s Afmi Plaza on June 9.
His family alleged that Shourav was abducted by plainclothesmen over his relationship with a businessman’s daughter.
The former Gazipur-4 MP sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention to ensure that Shourav was returned alive and unharmed.
Syeda Yasmin told the media briefing, Shourav received a phone call in the afternoon of June 8. He was told to ready his credentials for a job opportunity. He was called again the next day and told to wait in front of Agora in Chattogram’s Mimi Super Market.
“Our son left with the necessary documents and his passport at 7:00pm but never came back. His mobile phone was switched off.”
He had received threats of being picked up a few times before over his relationship with the businessman’s daughter, it was alleged in the media briefing.
Shourav’s mother received a phone call at 5:27 am and was told that a car had dropped him off by the side of a road, said the former state minister.
Sohel Taj later contacted CTTC’s Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shahidullah, who in turn informed the Superintendent of Myemensingh Police . The Superintendent then personally brought Shourav into the safe custody of the police.
Thanking everyone for their support during the ordeal, Sohel Taj said he hoped that such incidents will not occur in future.
Superintendent Shah Abid told reporters that workers of Jamir Rice Mills informed Shourav’s family after he was dropped in front of the factory.
On Shourav’s current state, the Superintendent said, “He is healthy right now. I can’t say much more right now as the situation hasn’t allowed us to speak with him. He said he will talk later.”
Asked whether Shourav divulged any information on his whereabouts over the last 11 days, Shah Abid said, “He can’t tell where he was. But he was being held. That’s all he said.”
Asked about the people who had dropped him off in Myemensingh, he said, “This is a matter of investigation.”
