Well-equipped and well-trained law enforcement agencies have failed to find out the masterminds who brainwash and recruit youths for the banned local and international militant outfits in the country.
The law enforcers had previously announced that all involved in the Holey Artisan incident had been caught and the situation was under control. At least 33 banned militant outfit members have so far been killed in joint operations of the law enforcement agencies since the army action against militants in Gulshan's Holey Artisan Bakery on July 2.
Mystery shrouds the sudden disappearance of ten youths, including, a ruling party student-wing BCL leader from the capital's Banani residential area, Rangpur and Barisal about a week ago. Different law enforcement agencies, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, are yet to unearth the mystery.
Normally, law enforcement agencies keep an eye on adult males for any suspicious movement. But they do not give that much importance to communications of young boys and girls or on their movements.
If the missing eight youths are indeed involved in militancy, as the police hint, then there is a reason for public concern.
On the other hand, if these young men have been picked up by others or abducted, that too is a fearful matter.
The questions which loom large, have these young men voluntarily run away from home? Are they involved in any conspiracies? If they have run away on their own accord, there is a reason for concern.
Even before the Holey Artisan incident, several young men had gone missing. Later, it was unearthed that they were involved in various acts of militancy, in collusion with each other.
The law enforcement agencies arrested several other suspected militants in line with them and some of the suspects were killed in gunfights.
The law enforcers are still at a loss over the whereabouts of the youths although their guardians filed general diaries over the disappearances.
One of the ten missing persons who disappeared recently and caused a stir in the country has been found in Dhaka's Gendaria area on Saturday morning.
The youth, Niamatullah, 16, a madrasa student in Barisal's Agailjhara upazila, was handed over to his family members this afternoon, Gendaria police said.
He fled home out of anger, Gendaria Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mizanur Rahman, told the Daily Observer. "His father and relatives took him around 2:30pm."
Niamatullah sent a message to his mother's mobile phone on December 3, three days after he had gone missing. He asked his mother not to worry about him.
The two missing students of Pabna Medical College have been identified as Zakir Hossain and Tanvir Ahamad Tanoy. Zakir Hossain was the organising secretary of the ruling party student wing BCL, local sources said. Friends of Zakir and Tanvir said they went missing at the same time. Family members filed GDs with Pabna and Kounia police station in Rangpur.
Family members of the youths who went missing do not think their dear ones in any way might have any links to any militant organisation.
They just do not know why or how the youths disappeared. They just want their children back in good health. Police, however, taking queue from earlier disappearances suspect that they might have been radicalised.
Safayet Hossain, 24, Zayen Hossain Khan Pavel, 23, and Sobuj alias Sujon, 25, and Mehedi Hasan, 27 - all residents of Banani - went missing six days ago. They were last seen dining together at a Banani restaurant.
Sayeed Anwar Khan, also a Banani resident, went missing also since Monday afternoon, and Imran Farhat, a resident from Dhaka Cantonment area, disappeared on November 29.
Masudur Rahman Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police media wing said, "We came to know about their disappearances after the guardians filed GDs. We are investigating into the matter giving the highest priority. The DB police also is working on it."
