'Missing' but not missing

A cook at a fishing trawler in Chittagong, Jane Alam went to the house of his first wife in Mymensingh on February 21, without telling his second wife.

Having failed to find him on the phone, the second wife, Nurjahan, filed a general diary with Patenga Police Station in the port city to report that her husband was missing.  

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Nineteen days later, Alam returned to Nurjahan.

But the 33-year-old is still on the Rab list of missing people, as the family did not inform the police about his return and the police did not contact the family and update their record accordingly.

On the Rab list released on Tuesday night, Alam's serial number is 109.

The special crime busting force prepared the much-talked-about list of 262 missing men following the July 1 Dhaka café siege and the Sholakia attack in Kishoreganj on the Eid day.

Most of the attackers had remained missing for months.

The Rab list itself mentioned that three of the 262 returned home while family members of some 30 others have told The Daily Star that their relatives either came home or contacted them.

This newspaper yesterday spoke with 10 such returnees, most of them victims of doping gangs and muggers.

They alleged that law enforcers and intelligence agencies were harassing them and their families just because their names came up on the list.

Some said they were even being humiliated by their families, colleagues and friends.

Talking to The Daily Star, lawyers and former police officials said both the families and law enforcers were to blame for the mix-up, as each of them had a responsibility in this.

Muhammad Nurul Huda, a former inspector general of police, said complainants should report to the police after the return of their loved ones.

“On the other hand, police should update their records with the latest information to avoid such things,” he added.  

Kazi Mohibul Islam, a lawyer in Dhaka, fell victim to a doping gang on his way to Feni on March 25. He returned to his family after around 24 hours, by which time his family filed a general diary with Feni Police Station.

The family later verbally informed the police about his return, but police did not update their record.

“Now, my family and I are being harassed in various ways by law enforcement and intelligence agencies and even by journalists because the list features my name,” he told The Daily Star by phone.

“The situation has turned so bad that my father is now asking me whether I really practise law in Dhaka,” he said, sounding frustrated.

At least six others share his frustration.

One DMP official, who investigated two cases of missing, said the families informed them in writing after their relatives returned home.

“When Rab officials asked me recently about their status, I told them that they returned home. I don't know why their names are on the list,” he said, asking not to be named.

Contacted, Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of Rab's legal and media wing, said they prepared the list based on information from police stations across the country.

“If the returnees report to the respective police stations, we will update the list,” he said. 

Earlier on Wednesday, he told the BBC that there may be various reasons as to why these people had gone missing.

"So it is not possible to say that they all are directly involved in militancy. We are not telling so either," Mahmud added.

Meanwhile in Chittagong, Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque yesterday said they were verifying the list. Only after case by case analysis they would be able to say how many of them have militant links.

He said the Rab list was not a final one and that police would publish a final list after verification.