Mothers worried over Apratim’s murder, hundreds of questions on their minds

Thirteen-year-old Apratim left home on Friday afternoon carrying his mother’s iPhone. There has been no trace of him since. His mother may never have imagined that this would be the last time she saw her son. The afternoon passed into evening and the evening into night. But the boy did not return home.

Time kept passing as his family waited for the phone to ring and hoped to hear Apratim’s voice on the other end. Where had he gone? Who was he with? When would he return? Unknown fears gripped his parents. Eventually, a general diary was filed at Sadar Dakshin Model Police Station.

After a long wait, Apratim was found in the Sananda Forest of Lalmai Hill. However, his body was lifeless.

Similarly, 10-year-old Kamrunnahar Kali returned home from the market with her father on the afternoon of September 9. After handing the shopping bags to her mother, she left home again. She never returned.

Her sandal was found near their home. Her father filed a general diary at the police station the following day. Seven days later, last Thursday, Kali’s body was recovered from a ditch beside their home. Her body was found wrapped in a sack. Police said the child was raped and murdered. Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

News of children like Apratim or Kali going missing emerges frequently. Some return to their mothers’ arms. Others return as lifeless bodies after being murdered. Many others are never found by their families.

According to data from the Police Headquarters, general diaries were filed over the disappearance of 15,717 children during the seven months from January to July this year. Of them, 13,679 were recovered alive or dead. The whereabouts of 2,038 children remain unknown.

The disappearance and recovery of Apratim’s body have renewed concerns and anxiety among mothers across the country about the safety of their children.

Facebook posts made by his mother Nahida Nahid, a university teacher, seeking information about Apratim began spreading on social media on Friday night and Saturday morning. Numerous messages of grief for Apratim appeared in the comments under those posts. Many parents also expressed concerns about the safety of their children.

Women media worker Muslim Jahan Setu said, “There are reports of various kinds of violence everywhere. I am always terrified about my own children and the children of my relatives. I worry about what harm may come from any direction. I cannot trust anyone. Everyone seems suspicious. That is why I work while keeping my four-year-old daughter near my workplace or my husband’s workplace. My daughter travels by metro rail four times a day. Even there, bombs have been recovered. When I open Facebook, I see only reports of brutality. Mothers are under so much mental pressure that living a normal life is becoming difficult.”