Bangladesh abductees found floating in river

Bodies of seven people – including city official – who were missing, recovered from river near capital Dhaka.

The US has called for Bangladesh's leaders to work through their bitter divisions in the impoverished country [EPA]

Bodies of at least seven abducted people, including a municipal official, have been found in Shitalakkha river in Bangladesh’s Narayanganj district sparking protests, police have said.

The seventh body, identified as driver of Nazrul Islam – an official of Narayanganj City Corporation – was recovered on Thursday from the river, about 35km south of the capital, Dhaka.

Islam, whose body was recovered a day earlier, was missing along with his four aides since Sunday.

Narayanganj’s senior lawyer, Chandan Kumar Sarker’s driver identified as Ibrahim, who also remained missing before his body was recovered.

Security personnel from the Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) were deployed in the district to control the law and order situation, Dhaka based English Daily, The Daily Star, reported.

The businessman husband of environmental lawyer, Syeda Rizwana Hasan – who was also abducted – was found alive, according to reports.

Surge in abductions

The government has, meanwhile, decided to mount closed-circuit cameras at major parts of various cities across the country to avert abductions.

A committee has been set up to probe the disappearances while a ban on microbuses with tinted glass has been in place since from May 10.

The South Asian country is witnessing a surge in abductions and murders. Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has blamed the ruling Awami League party for carrying out abductions and murders “as a part of the bid to quell the opposition”.

On Wednesday, the US called for Bangladesh’s leaders to work through their bitter divisions, warning that prolonged instability would take a dangerous toll on the impoverished country.

“We believe that all of the gains that Bangladesh has made in its economy, in its development trajectory, that all of those gains are fragile and unsustainable in the long term if it does not have political stability,” Nisha Biswal, the assistant secretary of state for South Asia, told a Congressional subcommitte, accoding to AP news agency.

The US remians critical of the January elections earlier this year which returned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to power after the main opposition party boycotted the vote.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies