Missing HSC Candidate from Bashundhara Rescued in Savar

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has rescued a teenage Higher Secondary Certificate examinee from Savar after she went missing on her way from her home in Dhaka's Bashundhara Residential Area to her exam venue. Quoting the rescued student, RAB and her family say that a woman “rendered her unconscious” and took her to Savar shortly after she left home to take an exam at the Government Bangla College centre in Mirpur on Sunday. However, it is still unclear who abducted her, why they did it, and how she was released. When she did not return home on Sunday after her exam, her family searched for her. Later, when she could not be found, the family filed a general diary at Bhatara Police Station. Later, an investigation was launched and a RAB press release said that she was rescued from the Savar area on Sunday night. The girl is taking her HSC exam as a student of BAF Shaheen College. In the press release, RAB said that the student left home around 8am on Sunday for the exam. Her exam was supposed to end by 1pm. When she did not return home after the scheduled time had passed, her family members went to the centre to make inquiries. After speaking to the authorities, they discovered that she had not gone to the centre.

“According to the rescued student, a woman came to talk to her after she left for the exam. At one point in the conversation, the woman held some anaesthetic in front of her nose and she lost consciousness. She is unable to remember anything after that. “When she regained consciousness, she found herself in a room. After spending some time in the unknown house, the victim managed to leave it. Later, a RAB patrol team identified the victim’s location and took her into custody.” RAB-4 Additional Superintendent of Police KN Roy Niyoti said, “The girl has been handed over to her family. We couldn't talk to her much because she was in mental distress." However, the account given by the student's father is somewhat different from the RAB's statement. Quoting his daughter, her father said: "She was headed to Bangla College by bus, sitting next to the window. A woman came and sat next to her on the bus. She recalls riding the bus until it reached the bus went to Mirpur area. She can't say what happened after that."

The student regained consciousness around 3:30pm, her father said. "The building was surrounded by tin, which suggests it was under construction. She saw a woman, an elderly man and three foreigners there. They were talking in English and were arguing among themselves about money. "Then the old man said that the incident had made the news and it was spreading along with pictures of her and that they could not keep her. He then told them to change her dress, cut her hair and make her leave, so that she would not be recognised. Then they forced her to change her dress, but she did not allow her hair to be cut." The girl's father also said, "Then the old man handed her Tk 400 and said, 'Ma, go away'. Then my daughter said, 'Where should I go?' The man asked, 'Where is your home?' When she told him her address, he said: 'Go to Savar.' Then she came down the stairs. She thought she was on the 10th-12th floor. "She went down and got an auto-rickshaw. The rickshaw fare was Tk 60. She arrived at the Savar Bus Stand and paid Tk 100. Then a local man saw her and asked where she was going and where she had come from. She then told him to give her father a call. We spoke to that man on the phone. Then we went to the location with RAB and found her." "She is very tired now. She is at home. Her eyes are heavy with sleep and she can’t keep them open. I don't know if she will be able to take the exam tomorrow."