Cox's Bazar Correspondent

Police recovered the body of an abducted Rohingya child two days after his abduction from a Rohingya camp in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar. Meanwhile, no trace has been found of a teenage boy from Lohagara, Chattogram, even after six days since his abduction on June 17.

Teknaf Model Police Station’s Inspector (Investigation) Himel Roy confirmed the information.

On the morning of Sunday (June 22), the body of Mohammad Abdullah (7), a Rohingya child, was recovered from a canal adjacent to Camp No. 24 in Leda area of Hnila Union, Teknaf Upazila.

Abdullah was the son of Hamid Hossain of Block-C of the same camp.

Inspector (Investigation) Himel Roy stated that the child went missing at around 5:30 pm on June 20. Later, an anonymous caller using mobile number 01848307483 contacted the child’s father, demanding a ransom of 2 million taka. The caller threatened to kill the child if the ransom was not paid. As the ransom was not provided, the unknown abductors killed the child at some point and dumped the body into the water. At dawn on Sunday, locals spotted the body floating in Leda canal and informed the family. The family later retrieved the body and brought it to the front of their shed. Upon receiving the news, police from Teknaf Police Station arrived at the scene, prepared an inquest report, and sent the body to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy. Legal action is being taken in this regard, the inspector added.

Meanwhile, Riazul Hasan (18), a teenager from Lohagara, who was abducted while traveling to Cox’s Bazar, has not been found even after six days.

Riazul Hasan (18) is the son of Ferdous Alam, a resident of Padmashikhil area in Charamba Union under Lohagara Police Station, Chattogram.

According to Ferdous Alam, his son left home around noon on Tuesday, June 17, to go to Cox’s Bazar and has been missing since then. He mentioned that before the last Eid-ul-Fitr, Riazul had left home after an argument with his father and started working at a shop in Cox's Bazar. He returned home before Eid-ul-Azha. Then, at around 2:00 pm on Tuesday, June 17, while traveling from Lohagara to Cox’s Bazar, he went missing. When they called his mobile number 01870-495136, an unknown person answered the phone and demanded 500,000 taka via bKash to ensure the boy's safe return. The caller threatened to kill the boy and send his body if the money was not paid. A general diary (GD) was later filed at the local police station. Using modern technology, it was identified that the abducted boy's last known location was in Hnila, under Teknaf Police Station.

Ferdous Alam said, “Since then, my son has been brutally tortured. The kidnappers made me listen to his cries over the phone. Now they are demanding 100,000 taka for his release. But I do not have that ability. I have approached the police and law enforcement repeatedly, but my son has not been rescued. Please save my son. They might kill him at any moment.”

Inspector (Investigation) Himel Roy of Teknaf Model Police Station said that police efforts are ongoing to rescue the abducted teenager from Lohagara. Using technology, the phone number’s last known location has been traced to Narayanganj. Police are actively working on the matter.

OC of Lohagara Police Station, Arifur Rahman, stated that the abducted boy had been working in Cox's Bazar. Upon receiving the news, a GD was filed at the police station. Using technology, his location was initially identified as Hnila area under Teknaf Police Station, and assistance was sought from Teknaf police for his rescue. Efforts to rescue him are continuing.

According to Cox’s Bazar District Police and the victims’ families, a total of 255 abduction incidents have occurred in various areas of Teknaf over the past 17 and a half months.