Where was Maruf Zaman?

Former ambassador and defence officer Maruf Zaman has returned home, 15 months after being abducted. That is huge relief for his friends and family and for the people in general. Over the last few years, hundreds have gone missing across the country, with only a few returning home. But their families still wait in hope. If someone dies, his family at least get the chance to give him a burial. But the families of the people who go missing have to make do with memories.

Maruf Zaman was abducted on 4 December 2017, on his way to the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from his Dhanmondi residence to pick up his younger daughter Samiha Zaman who was arriving there. It was later learnt that he did not make it to the airport. Within hours, he called the home phone and told his family that some people would come to their house and they should hand them whatever they asked for. Three well-built men in black T-shirts soon turned up and took away his mobile phone and laptop.

And now, 467 days later, he has returned. Where was he all these days? Who abducted him and why? Can our government even imagine what turmoil the family members go through when someone goes missing? Who are the people who came to his residence to pick up the mobile phone and the laptop? It is imperative to find answers to these questions. It is equally important to find what happened to the people who had been missing for months or years.

In almost all the cases, the missing people fail to tell us what exactly had happened. Neither does the law enforcement say anything. It is very unlikely that we will come to know anything in Maruf Zaman's case. We are left with no alternative but to term this a failure on the law enforcement's part. It is a shame that there is a quarter who can pick anyone up from anywhere, anytime and hold them captive for months. And the law enforcement can do nothing.
Our law enforcement agencies have been carrying out their duties with reputation. However, we are left to wonder what the reason could be for their failure in this particular case. In almost all the cases, we see the families alleging that members of the law enforcement agencies had picked them up. Those who are supposed to ensure our security are allegedly the ones involved in such acts, and we need to find out if they are doing so to serve someone's vested interests. Stern action should be taken to uphold the image of the law enforcement agencies.

In a true democratic country, nobody can go missing this way. These incidents tarnish the image of the country in front of the world. The government should look into the case of Maruf Zaman and let the people know what had happened to him. And they should make sure that not a more single person goes missing.