More than 100 young persons, of similar age as the terrorists who attacked Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka on July 1, have gone missing since January 2015, according to a government official.
Seeking anonymity, the official, who is working closely on the issue of terrorism, said at least half of the missing persons are from Dhaka.
Law enforcers gathered the information from the general diaries provided by police stations from around the country, as well as parents of the missing persons who contacted police since the attack, the official told the Dhaka Tribune on Saturday.
Three of the terrorists who led the carnage in Gulshan came from affluent families in Dhaka and went missing four to six months before the attack, sources said.
The government official said the missing persons from Dhaka come from similar family background as the terrorists and went missing within a specific period of time – mainly since January last year.
Since the Gulshan attack, the government urged people to come forward and inform law enforcement agencies if someone in their families are missing too.
Many families came forward and informed police about their missing family members. One such missing person turned out to be Abir Hossain, the attacker who was killed during a gunfight between police and terrorists near Sholakia Eid ground in Kishoreganj on Thursday.
His father, Sirajul Islam, filed a general diary with Bhatara police station in Dhaka only a day before Sholakia attack, stating Abir had been missing for nearly eight months. He was a student of business administration at North South University, according to sources.
Law enforcers are now considering bringing the private universities under surveillance since several terrorists have been found to be private university students.
Some media outlets have published names of 10 young men who are missing, saying their families want the government to find them.
Law enforcers have been collecting information on missing persons – especially young persons – from police stations around the country.
A video reportedly released on the internet by the so-called Islamic State on Wednesday shows three Bangladeshi men hailing the Gulshan attack. One of the trio was identified by his friends who claimed he went missing around three years ago.
Source: New Age
