‘Please find my husband or take me to him’

"I have not been physically and mentally fit for the last six days. I can only ask you to please find my husband. Please trace his location or take me to him." 

This is how Sabikunnahar began her press conference yesterday. 

Her husband, Rangpur preacher Abu Twa-ha Muhammad Adnan, has been missing for the past six days. Sabikunnar broke down into tears as she called upon law enforcement agencies to ensure his return. 

While talking to reporters at Safipur in Gazipur on Wednesday morning, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said law enforcement agencies are keeping an eye on the disappearance of the Islamic preacher. Twa-ha's whereabouts will be known, the minister added.

Islamic preacher Md Afsanul Adnan, popularly known as Abu Taw-ha Muhammad Adnan, and his three companions have reportedly been missing since last Thursday, claimed his family members.

Sabikunnahar, told reporters, "Where have I not gone in the last six days? From the Prime Minister's Office to the Rapid Action Battalion headquarters, from Detective Branch to Police Headquarters…everywhere I have heard the same answer: They know nothing about him." 

"Where else can I go? Being an ordinary woman, I have tried all my efforts to know his whereabouts," she said at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital's Segunbagicha. 

"Then where has he gone? I can assume no private agency or persons picked him up – I have a suspicion that it may have been a law enforcement agency." 

Twa-ha's wife also fears that foreign intelligence agencies might be behind the sudden disappearance of Abu Twa-ha for speaking out against Zionism. 

Sabikunnahar said in his speeches he (Abu Twa-ha) spoke against Judaism and also gave speeches on geo-political issues like the Israel-Palestine conflict. 

"He has spoken out regarding Al-Aqsa, the most loving place for the Muslims, he also spoke out against those who are occupying it. He has explained Islam in the light of Qur'an and Hadith. That is why he might have been picked up by a foreign intelligence agency," she added. 

Sabikunnahar said, "I am not a man of this world. I do not know how to talk to you [reporters]. Ever since my husband went missing, I have been mentally and physically ill. I went everywhere in the state to look for him. I have personally applied to the Prime Minister's Office, RAB Headquarters, Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police (DB Office), IGP and everyone else." 

"He was not affiliated with any political party, not even with the BNP or any religious organisations, he does not believe in any doctrine. He is an ordinary and innocent man. I do not think he has any enemies. He used to talk only about Allah, the Qur'an and the Hadith of the Prophet. That is why many may misunderstand him," she said. 

"If he has done anything wrong according to the Bangladesh law, please bring him back and hand him over to the law. His trial will be held under the existing law. But in this way, four people have disappeared, how is that possible!" 

Drawing the attention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the wife of the missing Twa-Ha said, "You are the only problem solver in this country. You are the mother of humanity. Please make arrangements to return my husband. If you say so, it will be possible. At the same time, another woman [Dhallywood actress Pori Moni] got his justice immediately. Police have arrested the accused. Please take the initiative to return my husband too, Hon'ble Prime Minister," she urged the prime minister. 

Darussalam Police Station Officer-in-Charge Tofael Ahmed said, "We have examined CCTV footage [at Gabtoli] but we found nothing so far."

Adnan's family further claimed that they were threatened to delete posts from social media platforms regarding the incident.

Earlier, on Monday she went to Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, director general of the Rapid Action Battalion, asking if they had Adnan in custody to which he replied "You can be informed if he is in our custody. If we have any update we will let you inform."