Child Ibrahim missing from his own home, no trace in 28 days

A five-year-old child named Ibrahim has been missing from a residence in Mirpur for nearly a month. He was with his parents on Road No. 4, Block B, Section No. 11, Pallabi, in the capital when the incident occured.

CCTV footage from the alley in front of that house shows the child, Ibrahim, leaving a pink-colored house and entering his own home at exactly 7:40 PM on May 13. The house owner, Omar Sharif, is also seen entering right behind him. Ten minutes later, at 7:51 PM, Omar Sharif leaves the house. Just 22 seconds later, at 7:51:22 PM, a child's scream of "Abba" (Father) can be heard. Along with that intense scream, the child can be heard saying something indistinct in a tearful voice. Ibrahim's parents claim the scream is Ibrahim's. Since then, the child has not been found.

Missing after entering own home after visiting from friend's house

Ibrahim's father, a street snack (fuchka ) vendor named Md. Jasim, said that after finishing playing with a friend at the neighboring house, Ibrahim entered his own home's gate. At that time, the house owner, Md. Omar Sharif, also entered the gate behind Ibrahim. We started searching for Ibrahim around 9:00 to 9:30 PM. I saw his pair of shoes lying at the corner of the stairs in front of the gate. I thought, since the shoes are here, my son might be nearby or on the upper floor. After that, we called out for him but couldn't find him anywhere in the house, and we became panicked. Then we searched all the places around the house all night but did not find Ibrahim.

Later, after checking the CCTV footage, we saw that from the time he entered the gate at 7:40 PM until 12:00 AM midnight, he never left the house again.

Allegations point at the house owner

When asked about the child Ibrahim, the house owner, Md. Omar Sharif, who was seen in the CCTV footage entering behind Ibrahim, told "Agamir Somoy", "When I entered the house, Ibrahim also entered in front of me. As soon as he entered, he went towards the bathroom, and I went upstairs. I left shortly after to get money from the house to buy medicine for my child. When I left, I didn't see Ibrahim again."

However, the family claims that when they questioned Omar Sharif after failing to find Ibrahim, he had told them that he saw Ibrahim sitting on the stairs. But now he says he saw him going to the bathroom. The child's family has alleged that there are inconsistencies in the house owner's statements.

Additionally, the family alleges that among the house owner's three brothers, two have long been involved in drugs and online gambling. They suspect their child may have been kidnapped for money.
Ibrahim's mother, Nasrin Akhtar Nazmin, citing an incident, said: "Three days after Ibrahim went missing, my brother-in-law went to the house owner's flat upstairs to check the CCTV footage. However, he mistakenly entered another room. Then Sharif, another brother of the house owner, hit him on the head with the butt of a pistol. Later, he needed six stitches on his head."

Kidnapping case

The day after the incident, on May 14, Ibrahim's family filed a General Diary (GD) at Pallabi Police Station. Later, on June 2, they filed a kidnapping case and requested that the case be transferred to the Detective Branch (DB). The family alleges that since the incident did not go viral, they have not been receiving proper cooperation from law enforcement.

Regarding this matter, Agamir Somoy contacted Md. Hasan Basir, the Officer-in-Charge of Pallabi Police Station. Speaking about the case and investigation, he said, "On the 14th, a GD was filed on behalf of the family. Later, a kidnapping case was registered."

"The incident has become very complex. If someone had demanded ransom, we could have understood it was a kidnapping, or if a body was recovered, we could have proceeded with the case accordingly. We are trying our best. CCTV footage review and on-the-ground investigations are ongoing. Additionally, we have applied to transfer the case to the DB," he added.