The government needs to make a clear and unequivocal statement on the case of BNP joint secretary general Salahuddin Ahmed, who disappeared on Tuesday.
Law enforcement agencies responding to a High Court order reported on Sunday that they are not holding him and have been trying unsuccessfully to trace his whereabouts.
Salahuddin’s family is entitled to a full explanation as to how and why several plain clothes men apparently showing Detective Branch IDs were able to pick him up from a house in Uttara on Tuesday evening. If this is not the case, the authorities must look into his disappearance urgently.
The government’s credibility is already in question because in several past cases of BNP officials disappearing, they have been ultimately confirmed to be held by law enforcers and brought before a court.
More recently, the Nagarik Oikya convenor Mahmudur Rahman Manna, was eventually traced and taken to court, after a 20 hour absence about which there is still no official explanation for who held him for much of this period.
The lack of adequate and plausible explanations in these cases, where authorities have repeatedly altered their story, places the onus on the government to confirm that it has no involvement and that this is a case of abduction, as they claim.
Given the circumstances reported by Salahuddin ‘s family, speculation from senior government officials that he has gone into hiding is unhelpful and possibly prejudicial, and should best be avoided.
The most urgent need is for authorities to find Salahuddin and ensure his safety, whatever turns out to be the true story as to his disappearance.
