The disappearance of children across Bangladesh has once again raised questions about how quickly police respond to reports from distressed families, with several relatives alleging delays in recording general diaries and a lack of urgency in subsequent investigations.
The issue came into sharp focus after four-year-old Saiba went missing in the Banani area of Dhaka on 30 August. The child had been with her mother, Bithi Akter, who had taken her to the area near the foot of the footbridge opposite the Banani Shaheen Club to buy shoes.
According to Bithi, she left Saiba standing nearby while she concentrated on buying the shoes from a pavement stall. She said she was away for no more than five minutes. When she returned, her daughter had disappeared.
The family immediately began searching the surrounding area and went to Banani Police Station to report the disappearance. Bithi alleges that officers did not initially record her complaint and instead told her to search for the child herself.
She said she visited the police station on the day Saiba disappeared and again the following morning, but her request for a general diary was not accepted. Later that day, she returned with her mother, yet the family says the diary was still not recorded. It was eventually accepted on 1 September at around 4pm, almost two days after Saiba went missing.
Saiba’s grandmother, Sharifa Begum, said the investigating officer allegedly told her that finding the child was not solely the police’s responsibility and advised the family to search on their own and inform the police if they found her.
Seven days after the disappearance, however, the family was still without any information about Saiba.
The allegations have emerged amid broader complaints from relatives of missing children who say they have faced difficulties in getting their cases formally recorded and securing sustained police assistance afterwards.
Police say complaints will be investigated
The allegations were raised publicly at a press conference organised by the social organisation Moon Alert at the Reporters’ Unity in Dhaka on Sunday, 6 September. Relatives of 35 affected families attended the event, while at least two dozen spoke about their experiences.
Several family members broke down while describing the disappearance of their children and appealed for government intervention to help locate them.
Asked about the allegations, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) Mohammad Osman Gani said specific information about the police stations where families had allegedly faced obstruction would be needed before the complaints could be verified and action taken.
Police Assistant Inspector General (Media) AHM Shahadat Hossain said officers at field level had been instructed to treat missing-child cases with seriousness and sensitivity. He said the police were also working to recover missing children and that departmental action could be taken if a specific complaint of refusal to record a general diary or other forms of non-cooperation was established.
He also referred to the online general diary system, saying it was intended to reduce delays in recording complaints.
Shahadat Hossain rejected the suggestion that police officers could tell families to find missing children themselves. He said recovering missing children was part of the police’s responsibility and that appropriate action would be taken if such conduct by an officer was established.
More than 15,000 children reported missing
Police headquarters data cited in the report show the scale of the problem. Between January and July this year, 15,717 children were reported missing across the country. Of them, 13,679 were recovered, while 2,038 remained missing.
The figures show a marked difference between younger children and those aged between 10 and 17. From January to July, 474 general diaries were recorded over missing children aged between zero and nine. Of those children, 406 were recovered and 68 remained untraced.
For children aged between 10 and 17, 15,243 general diaries were recorded during the same period. Police recovered 13,273 of them, while 1,970 remained missing.
The figures underline the importance of rapid reporting and investigation in missing-child cases. Families and child-protection groups argue that delays at the initial stage can make an already difficult situation even more challenging for relatives desperate to establish where their children have gone.
Investigating officer denies negligence
The investigating officer assigned to Saiba’s general diary, Mohammad Billal Hossain, denied allegations of negligence.
He said he visited the scene soon after receiving a copy of the general diary. According to him, there were no closed-circuit television cameras at the precise location where Saiba disappeared, which meant that relevant footage could not be obtained from that spot.
Billal Hossain said police had taken the steps they considered necessary and were continuing their efforts within their capacity.
The family, however, maintains that it has not received adequate communication or visible progress since the general diary was filed.
Other families describe similar experiences
Saiba’s case is not the only one cited by Moon Alert.
Bilqis Begum, from Koyra in Khulna, has been searching for her daughter Samira since 26 August last year. She told the press conference that Samira followed her to a local market. At one point, the child walked towards a shop run by her uncle. She did not return home.
According to Bilqis, witnesses later told the family that a 19-year-old man named Azmir had taken Samira on a van and bought her sweets. Police subsequently took Azmir to the police station following pressure from local residents.
Bilqis alleged that although Azmir admitted knowing the child during questioning, he was not arrested and was eventually released. She questioned whether stronger investigative measures at the beginning of the case might have helped locate her daughter.
Another family has been searching for Mohammad Ibrahim, who disappeared from Mirpur-11 in Dhaka on 13 May.
Ibrahim’s father, Mohammad Jasim, works as a fuchka seller. He said his son entered their residential building at around 7.40pm but was not seen leaving it. He believes closed-circuit television footage from the building showed the child entering but not subsequently leaving.
Jasim alleged that Pallabi Police Station initially did not accept the general diary and that it was eventually recorded on 15 May. He said the family repeatedly visited the police station before a case was eventually taken up and the investigation was handed over to the Detective Branch.
The father, who said he has limited financial resources, appealed for government assistance in finding his son.
Retired police officer still searching for son
Among those who travelled to Dhaka for the Moon Alert event was retired police officer Mohammad Nazrul Islam from Rajbari. His son Tamim disappeared on 20 May 2025.
Nazrul said Tamim left home for school as usual that morning. Later, the family learned that the child had not attended school. Despite searching among relatives and acquaintances and contacting police, they have yet to find him.
Nazrul said his experience had been particularly painful because he himself had previously served in the police. He claimed that although officers initially treated him respectfully, their attitude changed as time passed.
He said he had spent more than Tk 2.5 million in his efforts to locate his only child, travelling to different parts of the country and pursuing various leads.
His account illustrates the financial and emotional burden that can fall on families when a child remains missing for months or years. For relatives, the search does not end when a general diary is recorded; they continue looking for information while dealing with uncertainty over what happened to their children.
Moon Alert calls for stronger response
Moon Alert said it had received 1,226 reports involving missing children since beginning its activities. More than 800 children had subsequently been recovered with assistance from police, according to the organisation.
The group said it had issued alerts in 171 cases, following which 119 children were recovered.
Moon Alert chief coordinator Sadat Rahman called for Bangladesh to adopt stronger systems for responding to missing-child cases, drawing on approaches used in countries where such incidents are treated as urgent matters requiring coordinated action.
He said the organisation wanted general diaries relating to missing children to become unnecessary through a system capable of responding immediately and effectively when a child disappears. He also called for coordinated efforts involving the government, law-enforcement agencies and other relevant organisations.
The allegations made by the families and the response from senior police officials highlight a central issue: the first hours after a child disappears can be critical. Families expect their complaints to be recorded promptly and investigations to begin without unnecessary delay. Whether those expectations are consistently being met remains a matter requiring closer scrutiny, particularly in cases where children remain missing for prolonged periods.
