Lalbagh man 'missing' for ten days

The manager of a business firm in the capital's Lalbagh yesterday alleged that his employer had remained missing after people claiming to be law enforcers abducted him 10 days ago.

The owner of Bismillah Metal Industries, Md Saifuddin, 38, was forcibly taken from home on the morning of October 28 by around five plainclothes men who said they were from Lalbagh Police Station, Manager Badsha Miah told a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity.

Quoting witnesses, Badsha said some of the men claimed they were officials of the Rapid Action Battalion and Detective Branch of police and "they were armed and carried handcuffs."

The men reached Saifuddin's house in Shahidnagar area around 6:45am and said they were ordered by court to search his house, he said.

Seeing the identity cards of the men, Saifuddin opened the door of his apartment on the third floor of the five-storey building, but instead of searching the house, they took Saifuddin downstairs, forced him into a microbus, and drove away, Badsha said.

He added that the microbus carrying Saifuddin joined two other microbuses waiting some around 200 metres away from the house.

Saifuddin's phone was turned off soon after the vehicles left, he said.

Md Alauddin, younger brother of Saifuddin, lodged a general diary with Lalbagh Police Station on the day of the incident.

Asked, Officer-in-Charge Moniruzzaman said police were looking for Saifuddin but a "full fledged investigation" would start if a case was filed.

Badsha, however, said the family would wait for a few more days before filing a case.