A CCTV video showing a man being dragged inside a white plastic sack in Dhaka’s Pallabi area sparked a widespread sensation on social media over allegations of abduction.
However, a preliminary police investigation has revealed that the incident was not an abduction, but a staged drama.
Nazrul Islam, the individual featured in the video, has been rescued from Karnafuli river area in Chittagong, and police have arrested one of his accomplices in connection with the incident.
Following a review of the full CCTV footage, police confirmed that no evidence was found to suggest Nazrul had been forcibly abducted.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Mirpur Division, Md Mostak Ahmed, confirmed the development on Monday.
He said Nazrul Islam was rescued from Karnafuli river area in Chittagong and an accomplice was arrested, adding that detailed information would be presented at a press conference.
The rescued individual, 50-year-old Nazrul Islam, is the son of Shukur Ali of Madhupur Police Station in Tangail.
For the past 15 to 16 years, he has been working as a security guard at The Salvation Army’s Tuberculosis and Leprosy Clinic, located in Avenue-2, Block-A area of Pallabi in the capital.
Although social media posts claimed that Nazrul was the project manager of the institution, police clarified that he is not the project manager, but a security guard at the clinic.
He performed his night guard duties sitting at a small table near the clinic gate, where he also slept.
According to police, Nazrul joined his night guard shift at around 10pm on Thursday. The following morning, at around 6am, relief guard Daniel Sarkar arrived for his shift.
Finding Nazrul missing, Daniel reported the matter to the project manager, Bose Elvin Othi, after which the clinic’s CCTV footage was reviewed.
The footage showed that at around 4:47am on Friday, an unidentified individual brought Nazrul in a white plastic sack and placed him in front of the clinic gate.
Nearly an hour later, at around 5:45am, Nazrul came out of the sack on his own. He was seen sitting in front of the gate for a short time before leaving the location in a rickshaw with the unidentified individual.
After the video circulated on social media, the incident was widely promoted and circulated as an abduction.
When the matter came to the attention of law enforcement, police from Pallabi Police Station and Mirpur Division examined the CCTV footage and related details to investigate the case.
