Seven-year-old child arrested for abducting four-year-old in Ctg gets bail
Four-year-old Ramim remains missing, and the investigation into his disappearance is ongoing.
A seven-year-old boy arrested in Chattogram on charges of abducting a four-year-old has been granted bail after a court ruled that police and prosecutors acted in violation of the Child Act 2013, which prohibits the arrest or detention of any child under nine.
The Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court reviewed the matter after learning that the child had been detained despite clear legal restrictions.
Public Prosecutor Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan said the prosecution sought bail yesterday (7 December), and Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Hasanul Islam approved the application.
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The seven-year-old, along with his mother, was charged in an abduction case of a four-year-old, who still remains missing.
In a written order issued in the afternoon, the judge stated that Section 44(1) of the Child Act bars the arrest or detention of children under nine.
He directed that the boy, who had been kept at the Tongi Child Development Centre for three days, be released into his father's custody without delay.
The case has drawn strong reaction within police and court circles, as officers proceeded with an arrest despite the legal prohibition.
The matter began on 13 April, when Anwara Begum, a resident of the Solashahar railway station area, brought her two sons to Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
Anwara's four-year-old son Ramim went missing from the hospital premises.
After hours of searching, she filed a general diary with Panchlaish Police Station. The child has remained missing for nearly eight months.
On Friday (5 December), unable to locate him, Anwara filed an abduction case naming a 30-year-old woman and her seven-year-old child as the accused.
She alleged that they had lured Ramim away from the hospital corridor while pretending to play with him.
Following the case, SI Enamul Haque arrested the woman and her son the same day and produced them before court.
The magistrate sent the mother to jail and ordered the child to the Tongi Child Development Centre.
This raised immediate concerns, as neither the Child Act nor the Penal Code allows the arrest, prosecution or detention of a child under nine.
Asked why the seven-year-old was listed as an accused, Panchlaish Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Solaiman said there is "no scope" to take action against a child of that age.
He said the case was registered to trigger an urgent search for the missing boy.
"But the investigation team mistakenly listed the seven-year-old as an accused. Even the prosecution overlooked the child's age when he was sent to the Child Development Centre," he said.
He claimed the "mistake" occurred amid the pressure of responding to a missing-child emergency.
Procedurally, a child defendant must be presented before the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, but with lower courts on recess, the Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court is handling such matters temporarily.
The boy was not present in the courtroom on Friday. Instead, he was sent to Tongi based on an interim order signed outside the regular docket.
Meanwhile, four-year-old Ramim remains missing, and the investigation into his disappearance is ongoing.
