bdnews24.com :The whereabouts of two tourists abducted in Bilaichharhi a month and a half ago remain unknown.Neither their families nor the law enforcement agencies seem to have any clue to the fate of the two men – businessman Zakir Hossain Munna and student Abdullah Al Zubair, both from Dhaka.Two others, guides Manchhai Mro and Laal Ring Chhang Bom, are also missing.Locals said ‘an armed group’ abducted six people, including Munna and Zubair, from the remote Natun Pukur area of the Barhathali Union Parishad in Rangamati district’s Bilaichharhi Upazila on the afternoon of Oct 3.Later in the night that day, the abductors released Avirang Tripura, a guide, and Manindra Tripura, a local inhabitant.Zubair’s cousin M Nawad Asheqin told the news agency that Zubair and Munna had travelled to Bandarban from Dhaka with four others on Sep 28. Their families learnt of their abduction on Oct 5. Quoting other members of the group, Asheqin said, “Seven armed men, two of them in uniforms, abducted them from Shipru Parha. They [abductors] were speaking Rakhine.So, the suspicion is that they are members of some separatist group in Myanmar.”The motive was not yet clear, he said. “Some sources say the Arakan Liberation Army of Myanmar has taken them to India’s Mizoram state. The incident is confusing. The authorities are not saying anything either.”Bangladesh Army’s Regional Commander Naqib Ahmed Chowdhury said soldiers had conducted several raids but failed to trace the two. “We really do not know where they are and we have no updates worth mentioning.”Zubair’s father Abdur Rab Khan said, “They are yet to be traced. I don’t know where my son is or how he is doing.”No ransom demand has been made yet, he added. Fatema Tuz Zohora, wife of abducted Munna, fears for her husband’s life. “No contacts could be established with him in a month and a half. I know he is in grave trouble.
