A Chandpur jeweler and his family have gone missing amid allegations that he failed to return gold jewelry pledged by several customers.
Pintu Das, owner of SK Shilpalay on the ground floor of Akhand Market in Chandpur city, his wife Rimi Das, and their two sons, Class 10 students Priyam Das and Rupam Das, have reportedly been untraceable since August 20, according to relatives.
The disappearance has raised concern among people who had pledged gold with Pintu, with some alleging that he went into hiding with the jewelry.
Police, however, said they are yet to establish whether Pintu and his family are missing or have gone into hiding. They are trying to locate the family.
On Wednesday, Upoma De, a close relative of Pintu and a resident of Guakhola Road in Chandpur city, informed local journalists about the matter.
“Pintu Das lived with his family in a rented house in Chandpur city. He was in debt for various reasons. We are receiving allegations that many people had pledged gold with him. We have not been able to find Pintu and his family since August 20,” she said.
Customers seek return of pledged gold
Several local residents said Pintu was involved in the business of taking gold as collateral and that gold belonging to different people was pledged with him.
They said he had been unable to return the pledged gold within the agreed time. He had also borrowed money from several associations, they said.
Russell Khan, son of Mansur Khan of Raghunathpur in Chandpur Sadar upazila, said he had pledged around 2.5 bhori of gold jewelry with Pintu for Tk50,000.
“On August 19, I went to return the Tk50,000 and collect my jewelry. Pintu asked me to come the following day. When I went there, I found his shop locked. I later went to his house and found that locked too,” Russell said.
“Later, I heard from local people that Pintu had gone into hiding with his family. I filed a written complaint with Chandpur Sadar Model Police Station on Wednesday,” he added.
Zahidul Islam, a resident of South Gunrajdi in Chandpur city, said he had pledged 12 ana of gold with Pintu, while Shubhankar Majumder said he had pledged 10 ana.
They also expressed concern about recovering their pledged gold.
According to local residents, Pintu had changed business locations several times before setting up SK Shilpalay on the ground floor of Akhand Market on Comilla Road.
They alleged that he took gold from local residents as collateral in exchange for relatively small amounts of money.
Two traders in the market said Pintu rented the shop and started his business around five to six months ago. His ancestral home is in Fatikchhari upazila of Chittagong.
Police investigating
Pintu and his family’s sudden disappearance has sparked discussions in the area, with some residents claiming that they went into hiding.
Chandpur Sadar Model Police Station Sub-Inspector Ferdous said no one from Pintu’s family had filed a general diary regarding their disappearance.
“If Pintu Das is hiding with his family, it will be difficult to locate him. No one from his family has filed a GD either,” he said.
Officer-in-Charge Foyez Ahmed said police learned about the disappearance on Wednesday.
“I learned today that Pintu Das and three members of his family cannot be found. I have also learned that people are owed money by him and that many had pledged gold jewelry with him,” he said.
“Whether he went into hiding because of this or whether something else happened is being investigated. We are trying to locate them,” the OC added.
