'Maa will come on Eid day', says 4-yr-old Sadia unaware her mother 'trafficked' to India

The stirrings of winter could easily be felt in the capital's Gulshan Park, where four-year-old Sadia Islam was visiting with her father and maternal uncle. 

Earlier, Sadia would often visit the park with her mother from their nearby Kalachandpur home. 

But, now things have changed. Sadia's mother hadn't accompanied her for the last few months.

"My mom is on duty; she hasn't come home for a long time," the young girl said.

In reality, Sadia's mother, Fahima Begum, has reportedly been trafficked.

Fahima left home on 14 July to go shopping. 

That was the last her family saw her. 

Her husband, Sabuj, who runs a cosmetic shop, remembers calling her at 11:00am on that day. 

"She said she had gone to Natun Bazar to buy burqas for our daughter. But afterwards, her phone was found switched off.

"I called her several times," said the 26-year-old. 

He added that Fahima used to help him in the evenings at the shop.

On the same day she went missing, the victim's father Harun or Rashid filed a general diary with the Gulshan Police Station. 

In time, their hopes began to dwindle. Until a sudden call.

'Alive, taken to India'

One fine morning, Fahima's family members began receiving messages on Facebook from an unknown ID. 

The message said this was Fahima and she was in India.

Later, Fahima's family was disappointed when they could not find her despite searching in various places. 

Recently, Fahima contacted her family members on Messenger from a Facebook ID and said she was in India.

"It was 3 October when Fahima first contacted one of my cousins. This was the first time we learned she was still alive, three months after she went missing," her elder brother Solaiman said. 

Quoting her messages, he said, "At that time, Fahima informed us that she was in a place called Kallani in India.

She also managed to send a photo of herself.

"Later, on 9 October, Fahima contacted me via Messenger from an account named Pakhi," the 25-year-old added.

"She told us that she had been trafficked to India and was being frequently relocated from one place to another. That was the last time we heard from her," he further said.

Solaiman said, in the messages, his sister mentioned that she is accompanied by 2-3 men and a woman who keep a close watch on her. 

She only got the chance to communicate with her family when those people went to grab groceries or ran errands, leaving the house, which is 2-5 kilometres from the local market.

Her father then wrote to the senior assistant secretary of the foreign ministry seeking help to bring his daughter back.

'Indian police have responded'

Maruf Ahmed, sub-Inspector of Gulshan Police Station and the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case, told The Business Standard that he had sought help from Indian police through the police headquarters. 

"They [Indian police] have already responded. Hopefully we will be able to rescue her as soon as possible," he added.

On 7 November, Bangladesh Police sent a request to India via Interpol, seeking necessary actions regarding the case. 

Subsequently, Indian police contacted Soleiman and took detailed information about Fahima with the aid of the IO.

Mentioning that conversation, Soleiman said, "A police officer spoke to me on 25 November and assured me that they would do their best to rescue my sister."

The Business Standard reached out to Chowdhury, the police inspector of crime branch of Thane Nagar Police Station in Maharashtra, who said they were already looking for information for the SIM card used to open the Facebook account.

"However, we didn't get any information till now," he said. 

Back in Gulshan park, after a 30-minute chat, Sadia is asked when her mother is supposed to return.

She stops, a smile across her face.

"She will come on Eid day!"