Sohel Taj wants nephew 'picked up by RAB' to return unharmed

Former state minister for home affairs Sohel Taj has called for the safe return of his nephew, Syed Iftekhar Alam Sourav, who was allegedly picked up on 9 June by plainclothes men over his relationship with a woman.

He made the call at a press conference in the capital's Dhaka Reporters' Unity on Monday.

Sohel Taj, son of Bangladesh’s first prime minister Tajuddin Ahmed, said that abduction is not expected in a country which was liberated for establishing democracy and justice.

"Family background is not a big matter. The state will run as per rule of law and it will, hopefully, be applied equally for all. I want my nephew Sourav to come back alive and unharmed soon. That's what I expect from the state and law enforcement," he said to the press conference.

Sourav went missing on 9 June on his way to Chattogram city's Mimi Super Market.

His mother, Syeda Yasmin Arjuman, in her written statement said, "Members of Rapid Action Battalion contacted my son in the afternoon and told him to go to the shopping centre at 7:00pm. Sourav did not come back from there. Since then, his phone has been found switched off."

When contacted, officials of RAB's media branchs asked to send them the general diary filed for Sourav's disappearance.

Asked about Sourav's connection with RAB, Syeda Yasmin Arjuman said that her son was in a relationship with a woman, Sauda, in 2017.

"Her father forcefully married her off in 2018 but the marriage did not last long. Sauda's father blamed Sourav for the break up and threatened my son," she said.
"On 7 February 2019 when Sourav was staying in Banani, was called to Uttara RAB office and asked to cut ties with Sauda. Banani police station officer-in-charge also threatened him with life on the same grounds on 12 February," she added.