A distress call from a desperate mother has prompted judicial intervention in Gaibandha after a drug-addicted father absconded with his eleven-month-old daughter, demanding a ransom to fund his addiction. The Executive Magistrate Court-1 of Gaibandha, presided over by Judge Nishat Tajnin, has instructed the local police to immediately locate the infant and apprehend the perpetrator following a formal plea filed by the victim’s mother, Romana Aktar.
The suspect, Hamidul Islam, originally hails from the Saharbazar area under Sadullapur upazila, though his father, Shahahan Mia, currently resides in the Dakshin Dhanghara village of Gaibandha municipality. Family sources reveal that Hamidul’s father arranged his marriage to Romana Aktar Jannati in July 2024 in a bid to curb his severe drug habit and encourage a settled lifestyle. Following the wedding, Hamidul lived as a resident son-in-law at his wife’s parental home. However, despite the family’s modest economic background, Hamidul consistently refused to seek employment, leaving his mother-in-law and sister-in-law to earn the household’s daily bread through manual labour.
Tensions escalated dramatically after the birth of the couple’s daughter, Fatema Aktar Jannati. Driven by his addiction, Hamidul reportedly subjected Romana to physical abuse in a bid to extract money for drugs. Matters took a sinister turn on the afternoon of 17 July, when Hamidul left the house with the eleven-month-old infant on the pretext of buying her juice and biscuits. He never returned.
Two days after vanishing with the child, Hamidul contacted Romana by mobile phone, demanding a payment of 5,000 taka to secure the baby’s release. He threatened to sell the infant if the money was not delivered promptly. Left with no alternative, Romana sought legal remedy through the magistrate’s court to secure her daughter’s safe return.
Following the judicial mandate, law enforcement agencies initiated search operations to track down the suspect. Swapan Kumar, the investigating officer assigned to the case, confirmed that police conducted multiple raids across potential hideouts on Monday night. Nazmul Huda, the Officer-in-Charge of Gaibandha Police Station, noted that while certain aspects of the initial report raised suspicion, officers are actively executing the court’s order to locate the missing child and place the father under arrest.
