Twenty-one eminent citizens expressed concern over what they said was a vested quarter trying to distract from the incident of abduction of poet and writer Farhad Mazhar through a smear campaign.

“Everyone expected that administration and members of law enforcement agencies would identify and arrest the real abductors. But it is a matter of concern and frustration that a vested quarter is spreading hate speech and propaganda to divert attention from the crime of abduction,” they said in a press statement on Monday.

“Such propaganda will create scope to divert attention from the Farhad Mazhar abduction case to another direction, which will provide a cover up for the criminals,” it added.

“So civil society members are urging the law enforcement agencies and the administration to be more active in unearthing the truth to dispel the anxiety over citizen's safety and their freedom of speech,” they said. 

The eminent citizens are—Prof Dr Serajul Islam Choudhury, Badruddin Umar, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, M Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, Dr Swapan Adnan, Prof Dilara Chowdhury, Shireen Huq, Firdous Azim, Dr Shahdeen Malik, Dr CR Abrar, Prof Anu Muhammad, Dr Shahidul Alam, Prof Amena Mohsin, Dr Salimullah Khan, Rehnuma Ahmed, Prof Asif Nazrul, Dr. Azfar Hussain, Nur Khan Liton, Adilur Rahman Khan,  Syeda Rizwana Hasan.

Farhad Mazhar's wife demands proper probe

With many confusing and contradicting information cropping up centring poet and writer Farhad Mazhar's disappearance, his wife yesterday demanded proper investigation into the incident.

“We are demanding professional investigation. Any irrelevant issues can drive the investigation of the abduction case out of track,” she said responding to the query on the judicial statement of a former female colleague of the writer.

Talking to The Daily Star outside the cabin in Birdem Hosptial, where Farhad Mazhar is being treated, Farida said they would brief media about the whole incident after recovery of her husband.

On July 4, Farhad, in a judicial statement before another magistrate, said several unidentified men forced him into a microbus and blindfolded him minutes after he came out of his Adabor house to buy medicines in the early hours of July 3.

Later, law enforcers found him on a bus of Hanif Paribahan in Jessore's Noapara around 11:30pm on the same day.

Meanwhile, investigators are yet to be sure of how Farhad Mazhar journeyed to Khulna from Dhaka on July 3. 

Hafiz Al Asad, senior assistant commissioner of west division of the detective branch of police, told The Daily Star that they are investigating the case with professionalism.

“We did not find any evidence that he went to Khulna on a microbus.”