Two cousins have been reported missing from the Dhaka’s Monipur area. Both are from well-to-do families and have recently completed their A-Levels.
Rafid Al-Hasan, 18, and Ayad Hasan, 18, left home with their passports on August 9, 2016. This happened after the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks, Kalyanpur raid, Tamim’s death, Mirpur raid and lots more arrests and militancy resistance efforts.
Missing Rafid Al-Hasan. Photo: Bangla Tribune
Families of the missing boys fear that the brothers have been brainwashed to militancy, as before leaving, Rafid left a note. The note read: “We have found our path,” reports Bangla Tribune.
Missing Ayad’s mother Moonmoon Ahmed has filed a general diary (No-637) with Mirpur police.
Assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Mirpur zone Alamgir Hossain said they were investigating why Ayad and Rafid had left home. Meanwhile, police have checked immigration points and neither of the boys was found to have left the country. Law enforcers have notified the immigration offices about the missing duo.
According to the Bangla Tribune report, Rafid’s father Toufique Hasan is an engineer and mother Nilufar Yasmin a homemaker. He sat for the A-Level exams from British Council.
Nilufar said: “I cannot believe my son chose this path. Someone must have brainwashed him. I want my son back and also want to see the one who brainwashed him face justice. My son [Rafid] has always been sincere about religion. But he was never extreme about anything. Although recently he has been a bit different, but that I noticed after he was gone.”
She said Rafid suddenly began insisting that the women and girls of the family wear hijab and pray regularly. She also often heard Rafid and Ayad talking about a big brother, but when asked, never gave a clear answer.
Passport detail's of Rafid. Photo: Bangla Tribune
Ayad was born and grew up studying in an English medium school in Saudi Arabia. He and his mother Moonmoon Ahmed returned to Bangladesh after his father Ali Hasan died. He too used to pray and read the holy Quran.
Moonmoon said: “My son is missing and I am pretty disturbed right now. If he joins the wrong cause, that would be on someone’s instigation. We have sought help from the law enforcement agencies to find him.”
The two mothers are sisters.
About progress in finding the two boys, a police official seeking anonymity said they have talked with the families including Rafid and Ayad’s other cousin Arefin Islam, eighth-semester student of biotechnology at Brac University.
According to family sources, Rafid and Ayad are close to this cousin. Arefin has recently refused to continue classes at Brac because it is a co-education.
In the recent spate of militant attacks and police raids, a few youths, who came from well-off families and studied in English medium institutions, died in gunfights. All of them were reported missing for one to three years.
On RAB’s list of missing people suspected to have joined militant outfits, there are a good number of educated youths from rich families. Rafid and Ayad may have chosen to become two more of them.
Missing Rafid Al-Hasan. Photo: Bangla Tribune
Families of the missing boys fear that the brothers have been brainwashed to militancy, as before leaving, Rafid left a note. The note read: “We have found our path,” reports Bangla Tribune.
Missing Ayad’s mother Moonmoon Ahmed has filed a general diary (No-637) with Mirpur police.
Assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Mirpur zone Alamgir Hossain said they were investigating why Ayad and Rafid had left home. Meanwhile, police have checked immigration points and neither of the boys was found to have left the country. Law enforcers have notified the immigration offices about the missing duo.
According to the Bangla Tribune report, Rafid’s father Toufique Hasan is an engineer and mother Nilufar Yasmin a homemaker. He sat for the A-Level exams from British Council.
Nilufar said: “I cannot believe my son chose this path. Someone must have brainwashed him. I want my son back and also want to see the one who brainwashed him face justice. My son [Rafid] has always been sincere about religion. But he was never extreme about anything. Although recently he has been a bit different, but that I noticed after he was gone.”
She said Rafid suddenly began insisting that the women and girls of the family wear hijab and pray regularly. She also often heard Rafid and Ayad talking about a big brother, but when asked, never gave a clear answer.
Passport detail's of Rafid. Photo: Bangla Tribune
Ayad was born and grew up studying in an English medium school in Saudi Arabia. He and his mother Moonmoon Ahmed returned to Bangladesh after his father Ali Hasan died. He too used to pray and read the holy Quran.
Moonmoon said: “My son is missing and I am pretty disturbed right now. If he joins the wrong cause, that would be on someone’s instigation. We have sought help from the law enforcement agencies to find him.”
The two mothers are sisters.
About progress in finding the two boys, a police official seeking anonymity said they have talked with the families including Rafid and Ayad’s other cousin Arefin Islam, eighth-semester student of biotechnology at Brac University.
According to family sources, Rafid and Ayad are close to this cousin. Arefin has recently refused to continue classes at Brac because it is a co-education.
In the recent spate of militant attacks and police raids, a few youths, who came from well-off families and studied in English medium institutions, died in gunfights. All of them were reported missing for one to three years.
On RAB’s list of missing people suspected to have joined militant outfits, there are a good number of educated youths from rich families. Rafid and Ayad may have chosen to become two more of them.