Three minor schoolgirls, who ran away from Pabna on Sunday aiming to cross the border out of the country, have been safely rescued from Kurigram with the assistance of a local police officer’s family and handed over to their guardians on Monday noon.
All three girls are residents of the same locality and students at Char Ashutoshpur High School in Pabna Sadar Upazila, with one studying in Class 8 and two in Class 6. Two of the schoolgirls are relatives.
According to family and police sources, the financial condition of all three families is normal, with guardians working in furniture making or as workshop labourers.
Police and family members said that one of the girls had been facing continuous ridicule and taunts from her family over her physical appearance and eye problems. This created resentment and hurt feelings, prompting her to contemplate leaving home.
Alongside watching online videos and entertainment content, she developed a keen interest in the popular South Korean music group BTS. She subsequently shared her plan to cross the border into another country with her two classmates, who decided to accompany her.
According to plan, the three girls gathered at their school around 10am on Sunday. Instead of attending classes, they took an auto-rickshaw to Ananta Mor in Pabna, and then another auto-rickshaw to Pabna Bus Terminal. They boarded a bus to Natore, travelled through Rangpur, and arrived at Kurigram Bus Terminal before evening. Family members claimed that one of the girls brought around Tk1 lakh of saved family money with her.
Upon reaching Kurigram, the girls searched for shelter to spend the night and inadvertently entered an unfamiliar neighbourhood. Their movements aroused suspicion among the family of Sub-Inspector (SI) Taj Uddin of Kurigram Sadar Police Station, who resides in that area.
SI Taj’s wife approached the trio, and feeling suspicious of their speech and behaviour, brought them to her residence, served them food, and gave them rest. SI Taj and his wife cleverly collected the family mobile numbers from the girls, contacted their guardians, and notified the local police.
Anxious over their missing children, the families had filed separate General Diaries (GD) at Pabna Sadar Police Station. Taking the simultaneous disappearance of three minor girls from the same school seriously, Pabna District Police tracked their whereabouts through SI Taj and Kurigram Sadar Police Station.
On Monday at noon, Pabna Sadar Police officially handed the rescued girls over to their guardians.
Pabna Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Tarikul Islam confirmed that police treated the matter with utmost importance after the separate GDs were lodged.
He noted that their location was verified through the Kurigram sub-inspector, and the three girls were safely recovered and returned to their families with the cooperation of Kurigram Police.
