Ujirpur Barisal Correspondent:
About 2,000 locals have formed a human chain in search of missing trawler driver Mahabub Howlader from the Sandhya River in Uzirpur. The human chain was organized at 10 am on February 10 at the Ichladi bus stand on the Dhaka-Barisal highway by relatives and locals. Uzirpur Municipal BNP convener Md. Shahidul Islam Khan, member secretary Md. Rokunuzzaman Tulu, joint convener Md. Gias Uddin Akon, municipal Jubo Dal convener Md. Shahabuddin Akon Sabu, and Uzirpur Journalists Union general secretary Md. Mahfuzur Rahman Masum spoke at the event.
Meanwhile, the elder brother of the missing Mahbub, Md. Jamal Hossain, said, "My brother is an innocent man, he is a trawler driver, he was kidnapped without any reason. We have not been able to find him for 11 days now. We want to find him alive."
At this time, the speakers said that since August 5, a group of seasonal extortionists, juvenile gangs, and occupying terrorists have been trying to tarnish the image of the country by engaging in various heinous crimes such as arson, kidnapping, and disappearance to destabilize the country. In continuation of this, those extortionist terrorists have strategically kidnapped Mahbub along with a trawler and have kept him missing. Therefore, they demand that the police administration find the kidnapped victim Mahbub. A group of extortionists are trying to pressure the party by causing one incident after another. They must be prevented, and at the same time, they must be vigilant against all these seasonal extortion terrorists. The people of the country want a guarantee of a natural death, everyone must stand up against the extortionist and terrorists. The police must play a strong role in this regard. Jamal Hossain, the leaseholder of the ghat and brother of the missing Mahbub, said that the toll booth will be closed until his brother is found. At this time, a 48-hour ultimatum was given to rescue the missing Mahbub. If he is not rescued within 48 hours, a call for a strict movement will be made.
It is worth mentioning that Mahabub Howlader, a trawler driver from Mundapasha village in Ujirpur upazila of Barisal district, went missing along with his trawler on the Babuganj-Ujirpur Sandhya river on January 31 at around 10 pm while travelling from Rahutkathi Ghat to Shikarpur. He has not been found for the last 6 days. He is the son of Sekandar Howlader of Paschim Mundapasha village in Shikarpur union of Ujirpur upazila. According to local and family sources, Mahabul Howlader used to drive a trawler for regular crossing at Shikarpur Kheyaghat. On the day of the incident, around 10:30 pm on January 31, 8 to 10 young and teenage passengers boarded his trawler. When they reached the middle of the river, they suddenly heard screams. However, since there were no other trawlers nearby, no one came to help.
Eyewitnesses and relatives on the riverbank believe that he was abducted in a planned manner due to past enmity and failure to pay extortion money to previous extortionists.
A general diary and later a regular case have been filed at Babuganj Police Station in this incident. Meanwhile, police from both police stations are trying to rescue the kidnapped person.
This incident is causing panic among the locals.
At that time, Uzirpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md. Ali Shuja and Assistant Superintendent of Police Md. Ikramul Ahad attended the human chain and spoke. They requested the family to suspend the human chain and promised to find the missing person. The officer-in-charge of Uzirpur Model Police Station said that Babuganj Police Station and Uzirpur Police Station are jointly trying to rescue them. During this time, the highway was blocked for three hours, causing thousands of vehicles to stop. Later, the human chain was withdrawn with the assurance of the administration.
Mahfuzur Rahman Masum
Ujirpur Barisal Correspondent
