MOHAMMAD SAIFUL ISLAM HIRU

Mohammad Saiful Islam Hiru was the President of Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP, Laksham Upazila, Cumilla and a former MP. 

Relatives of Mohammad Saiful Islam Hiru, said that Hiru, Mohammad Humayun Kabir Parvez, and Mohammad Jashim Mia were in an ambulance taking Parvez to the hospital when they were stopped by Rapid Action Battalion-RAB members at about 9 pm on November 27, 2013. The three men were forcibly transferred to a RAB vehicle according to Mia, who was later handed over to the police.

When the family inquired at the office of RAB-1 the next day, officers denied knowing where the two men were. That day, Humayun’s father, Mohammad Rongu Mia, filed a case with the Cumilla Court against various RAB and police officials who they believed were involved. The court directed the police to submit an investigation report to the court, but the report ultimately concluded that RAB had not been involved. The family submitted a Naraji petition— a petition arguing that the police investigation was fraudulent, biased, or was politically influenced, in which case the magistrate will order a further investigation—and the magistrate ordered the Criminal Investigation Department-CID to re-investigate the case. Over seven years later, the investigation report has yet to be submitted by the CID and there has been no progress in the case.

After searching for his son for years, Parvez’s father died in 2019. “He had always been very sad about his son’s disappearance,” Parvez’s wife, Shahnaaz, said. Parvez’s younger brother, Golam Farooq, believed that his father died from heartbreak and grief. Shahnaaz said that her family has “lost all hope of getting Humayun back.”

Hiru’s wife, Farida Begum said “We want to know the condition of Saiful and Humayun. We must be informed whether they are alive or dead.”

The family believes the disappearance of the two men was politically motivated because Hiru was a popular opposition leader in the Comilla district and was able to mobilize many supporters. They now fear he is dead.⁶

Mohammad Saiful Islam Hiru and Mohammad Humayun Kabir Parvez are still missing…