Daughter missing for three months, father remains in restless wait
For the past three months, a father in Bagerhat has been living in uncertainty, desperately waiting for the return of his 14-year-old daughter. Every day, he searches for her and hopes to hear her voice again.
The girl, Rafiatuz Athera Rafia, went missing on June 3 while she was on her way to school at around 10am. Despite filing a general diary (GD), lodging a case and submitting a written application to the police superintendent, her family has yet to find her.
Rafia was a Class IX science student at Chirulia School and College in Bagerhat Sadar upazila. Her class roll number was six.
According to the case documents and her family, Rafia is the daughter of PM Rajul Islam, an office assistant at Chirulia School and College. The family lives in the Ku-Bishnupur area of Bagerhat Sadar upazila.
After Rafia failed to return home on 3 June, her family filed a general diary (GD) with Bagerhat Model Police Station on 4 June. When she could not be traced, her father filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act on 6 June.
Four people were named as accused in the case, along with several unnamed individuals. The named accused are Arman Sarder, 19, and his parents Kamrul Sarder, 46, and Laboni Akter, 37.
Rafia's family alleged that Arman had long been trying to lure her into a romantic relationship. They claimed that after failing to persuade her, he kidnapped or otherwise took her away while she was going to school on 3 June.
After waiting for weeks without any information about his daughter, and alleging that he had not received an adequate response from the police, Rajul Islam submitted a written application to the Bagerhat police superintendent on 17 August.
In the application, he urged the police superintendent to direct the concerned officers to take effective measures to recover his daughter.
Md Anwar Hossain, principal of Chirulia School and College, also recommended in the application that necessary legal action be taken to recover Rafia.
Speaking about his ordeal, Rajul Islam said, “We don't know where my daughter is staying now or in what condition. I have knocked on every door of the police. I filed a GD and submitted an application to the SP.”
“I have also searched for her everywhere I could. Almost every day, I search possible places besides doing my work, hoping that I might hear her voice,” he said.
“Even now, I cannot sleep at night. I always think that my daughter may suddenly come back,” Rajul said.
He said his only wish as a father was to see his daughter return home alive and safe.
“I never want anything excessive. I only want a proper investigation into what happened to my daughter and justice for everyone involved in the matter,” he said.
Md Shamsul Arefin, officer-in-charge of Bagerhat Model Police Station, said the case was being investigated with due importance.
“Necessary measures have been taken, including the use of modern information technology, to trace the teenage girl and reunite her with her family,” he said.