Magura Correspondent : Ratna Khatun (45), daughter of the late Afsar Khan and a resident of Pashu Hospital Para in Magura Sadar, went missing on July 4. Although nearly a month and a half has passed since then, the Magura Sadar Police have been unable to locate her. Ratna went missing at 7:01 PM on that day. He had gone to meet Akkas Ali Sheikh, located near the temporary Kali temple in Batikadanga. Upon reaching the shop, he spoke on his mobile phone for 11 seconds. Since then, his mobile phone has been switched off, and he has gone missing. He filed a General Diary (GD) regarding this matter at the Magura Sadar Police Station. Subsequently, a case was filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act (Case No. 38, dated 13/08/2026). No accused individuals were named in the case. Ratna Khatun’s younger sister, Swapna Akter, filed a General Diary (GD) entry and subsequently lodged a formal case (GD No. 545, dated July 8, 2026). Although Faruk was not explicitly named as a defendant in the case, he is the primary suspect. A lawsuit regarding mohrana (dower) and dowry involving Ratna Khatun and an acquaintance named Faruk—son of Hiron Molla, residing in Khaskandi, Faridpur—is currently pending in court (Case No. CR 1577/25). The defendant, Faruk, is Ratna Khatun’s ex-husband. According to the case statement, a few years ago, he demanded 5 lakh taka as dowry from Ratna Khatun and physically assaulted her. Later, he divorced her and married someone else. Subsequently, after Ratna Khatun filed a case against him, she faced various threats from Faruk and his current wife; they had been repeatedly threatening her over the phone. The police have been informed of these details. More than a month has passed, yet the Magura police have been unable to locate the missing Ratna. Her daughter, Aanchal—who lives abroad—has demanded that the case be handed over to the PBI.

It has been reported that when Ratna Khatun left her home in the Pashu Hospital Para area, a neighbor asked where she was going; she replied that she was going to the market. Subsequently, at 7:01 PM, she made a mobile phone call to Akkas Ali Sheikh, a sanitary technician and stove seller from Batikadanga. Then, at 7:01 PM, she called Akkas Ali Sheikh—a sanitary technician and stove seller from Batikadanga—on his mobile phone. She spoke to him for 11 seconds while standing near his shop. From that moment on, her mobile phone was switched off, and she went missing.

During the call, she asked Akkas, “Brother, where are you? I have arrived at your shop.” Akkas replied, “I am coming; please wait a moment.” Within a few minutes of that conversation, Ratna Khatun’s mobile phone was switched off. Ratna Khatun’s only daughter lives in Britain. It is reported that Akkas Ali Sheikh works as a sanitary technician and a stove seller. The missing Ratna Akhtar had purchased a stove from him several years ago, which is how they became acquainted. He is also an old acquaintance of Faruk—the prime suspect in the suspected abduction and disappearance of Ratna Khatun and her mother. Ratna Khatun had paid for the stove a long time ago.

According to Anchal, Akkas Ali Sheikh has been misleading the police with false information regarding the nature of his dealings with the missing Ratna Khatun; he claims he had gone to pay an outstanding balance of 1,000 taka for a stove. Although the Magura police have summoned Akkas to the station multiple times based on telephone records, they have released him each time, unable to extract any information from him. Aanchal alleges that the police have not yet detained Faruk. In response, the police informed her that Faruk has kept his mobile phone active and has not changed his address; consequently, they do not consider him a suspect.

Aanchal contends that if the police were to detain and interrogate Faruk in connection with this case, the truth regarding her mother’s ultimate fate would be revealed. Regarding this matter, the Officer-in-Charge of Magura Police Station stated that a case was registered on the 13th and that the police investigation is ongoing.

Please follow and like us: