Abducted child rescued alive after abductors fail to sell him

Six-year-old Bayzid, who was abducted from Dhaka’s Rupnagar, was rescued alive from a child rehabilitation centre in Gazipur’s Tongi yesterday (6 October), 18 days after his disappearance.

The abductors had reportedly taken the child to Gazipur to sell him but, after failing to find a buyer, left him on the road.

Locals later rescued Bayzid, and police took him to a child rehabilitation centre in Adarshanagar, Gazipur. Acting on intelligence, a team of SRB-4 rescued him from the Sammilito Shishu Punarbashon Kendra in Dattapara, Ershad Nagar, under Tongi East police station.

SRB-4 Commander Lieutenant Colonel Md Hafizur Rahman confirmed the matter yesterday evening.

He said Bayzid was abducted from a house in the Duaripara area of Rupnagar police station on 18 September. Following the incident, an SRB-4 team began a shadow investigation to locate the child.

CCTV footage from the area showed that Bayzid was taken around 1.5km towards Square Nursing Home Clinic after the abduction. Footage from the clinic later showed two women, Lipi and Nasrin, taking the child by the hand. No further footage was found.

During the investigation, SRB learned that Nasrin, daughter of Kulsum, had been staying for several days at the home of a tenant living next door to Bayzid’s father, Rafiqul Islam.

Preliminary information indicated that Nasrin was involved in a child theft ring. She and Lipi later took Bayzid to Gazipur to sell him, SRB said.

Kulsum has been arrested in connection with the case, while efforts are underway to arrest the others involved.

Using information technology, intelligence and investigation, SRB later traced Bayzid’s whereabouts and rescued him from the boys’ section of the Sammilito Shishu Punarbashon Kendra.

After the rescue, information provided by the child and the investigation revealed that Nasrin and Lipi had tried to sell him to several people. Failing to do so, they eventually left him on the road.

Local police later rescued the child and took him to the rehabilitation centre, where he had remained until his rescue.

According to the case statement, Bayzid’s father is a rickshaw puller, while his mother works as a domestic worker in different homes.

On the morning of 18 September, Bayzid’s mother left for work while he and his father were asleep at home. His father woke up around noon and found the child missing.

After searching for Bayzid in different places without success, his father filed a case with Rupnagar police station.