List of Missing People Getting Longer

A young Islamic Preacher named Md. Afshanul Adnan (Abu Taw-ha Muhammad Adnan) has been missing since late last Thursday night (June 10th). The driver and two other accomplices are also missing. Adnan's family is very much worried about him.

Five days have already passed. The reason for his 'disappearance' is still unknown. There are no signs of effective action by the government to rescue him. Adnan's family also complained that no police station had registered a general diary or case when they went to Darussalam and Mirpur police stations to report his disappearance. The latest GD has been lodged with Rangpur Sadar Police Station.

Many are expressing concern about the issue through social media. Many people started the hashtag on various social media platforms to look for Abu Twa-ha. Some see it as a 'reluctance' on the part of law enforcement. Many people think that Abu Twa-ha is not missing, he is in the custody of the security forces. That is why the police are not taking the case even after so long. On Monday (June 14), Amnesty International issued a statement from South Asia's Verified Twitter seeking the search for the missing Twa-Ha Adnan.

News of such 'disappearances' naturally raises concerns and apprehensions. In the last few years, such 'missing' people in the country have no chance to say anything other than disappearance.

Many families of missing persons complain that they do not receive any assistance from law enforcement agencies. Many returned after being missing for some time. They do not remember the time of the disappearance. No legal action was taken by the families on their return. No investigation has also been seen by the law enforcement agencies.

The government has always demanded that no disappearances take place in the country. But domestic and international human rights organizations have been insisting that disappearances occur in Bangladesh.

According to a human rights organization 'Odhikar', 11 people went missing in the country from January to April 2021. According to the data provided by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) in August last year, 604 people have gone missing in Bangladesh in the last 13 years. The bodies of 78 of them have been recovered. 89 people have been arrested and 57 have returned somehow. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) released a list of 532 people who went missing in Bangladesh from 2009 to July 2019 August 2019.

Once upon a time, after the disappearance of political leaders, several incidents caused a stir. But now human rights groups say ordinary people are also disappearing.

Ismail Hossain Baten, a timber trader, went missing from his workplace in June 2019. Baten's wife, Nasreen Jahan, said she was not a member of any political party at the time of her disappearance, but said she had tried in various ways since her husband's disappearance but failed to find him. She has reported the incident to law enforcement, human rights organizations and even also notified the Prime Minister's office.

Former Ambassador Maroof Zaman returned home in 2019 after being missing for about 15 months. On December 4, 2017, he went missing on his way to the airport from his home. But when he returned, he did not say where he was or what happened. Private university teacher Mobasher Hasan and journalist Utpal, who went missing in 2017, have been released in the dark of night.

Journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajal went missing last year after a case was filed under the Digital Security Act. Two months after his disappearance, he was found at the Benapole border.

Kidnappings, disappearances, assassinations, extrajudicial killings and torture in custody and lack of access to justice are among the atrocities and extreme crimes of human rights violations. Analysts say human rights violations are not isolated, but interconnected; One affects the other and ultimately threatens the rule of law.

Human rights activist Nur Khan Liton says such kind of disappearance is being used as a tool to create a culture of fear. People used to discuss various issues in hotels, restaurants, buses, trains; their main topic was the political environment, political activities. We do not see any such discussion in recent times. One of the main reasons for this is that disappearances have taken people to such a state that people no longer feel safe.

Lawyers say if a person is involved in a conspiracy against the government or the state, if law enforcement or the government is embarrassed by someone's Facebook status or actions, there is a legal process to warn or punish them. A case can be filed against any citizen of the state and there is ample scope for trial, regardless of his party or opinion. There are even laws to interrogate him. But we still need to think about why people are disappearing.

In this context, the former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Kazi Reazul Alam said, "Every citizen has the constitutional right to security of himself and his family. Any complaint of disappearance or missing should be taken very seriously. Need to investigate the matter impartially. The victim's family needs to be informed about the whereabouts of the missing person.'