A businessman in Chandpur, along with his wife and two sons, has reportedly gone missing, prompting concern among relatives and local residents and raising questions about his financial circumstances and recent business dealings.
The missing businessman has been identified as Pintu Das, proprietor of SK Shilpalaya in Chandpur town. His wife, Rimi Das, and their two sons, Priyam Das and Rupam Das, are also reportedly unaccounted for.
The development was confirmed on Wednesday (26 August) by Upoma De, a close relative of Pintu Das and joint convenor of the Chandpur district unit of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Student Unity Council.
According to family members, Pintu Das had been living in a rented house in Chandpur town with his wife and children. Relatives said he had accumulated debts for various reasons. They also learnt that a man from Patwari Bari had allegedly been threatening him in different ways in recent days. The family believes the threats may be relevant to the circumstances surrounding their disappearance.
However, some local residents have raised separate concerns about Das’s business activities and financial dealings. They claimed that he was involved in a gold-pawning business, in which people deposited gold ornaments in exchange for money. According to these residents, he had allegedly faced difficulties returning pledged gold within the agreed period.
They also claimed that Das had taken loans from several local cooperative or savings associations for business purposes, contributing to his reported financial difficulties. These claims have not yet been independently verified.
Local residents said Das had changed the location of his business several times before operating SK Shilpalaya on the ground floor of Madina Market in Chandpur. Some alleged that customers received substantially less money than the market value of the gold they pledged.
One such customer, Russel Khan, son of Mansur Khan of Raghunathpur, claimed that he had pledged two and a half bhori of gold ornaments to Das in exchange for Tk 50,000. When he later returned with the money to recover the ornaments, Das allegedly asked him to come back the following day. Russel said he subsequently learnt that Das and his entire family had disappeared. He also said that he had lodged a complaint with the police over the matter.
Two other local residents have also claimed to have pledged gold with Das. Jahidul Islam of South Gunrajdi said he had deposited 12 ana of gold, while Shubhankar Majumder claimed to have pledged 10 ana.
According to them, Das had rented the shop at Madina Market around five or six months ago and started operating his business there. His family home is reportedly in Fatikchhari, Chattogram, while relatives are said to live in Cumilla and Mudaffarganj.
The circumstances surrounding the disappearance remain unclear. While relatives have raised concerns about possible threats, some residents have focused on Das’s reported debts and gold-related financial dealings. At this stage, there is no confirmed information establishing whether these matters are directly connected to the family’s disappearance.
There is also uncertainty over whether Pintu Das and his family have gone missing against their will or have deliberately gone into hiding. Local discussions have intensified as no confirmed information about their whereabouts has emerged.
Ferdous, second officer at Chandpur Sadar Model Police Station, said that if Pintu Das had voluntarily gone into hiding with his family, locating them could prove difficult. He added that he could not immediately confirm whether anyone had formally submitted a complaint to the station.
The officer-in-charge of Chandpur Sadar Model Police Station said he had only just learnt of the disappearance of Pintu Das and the three members of his family. Police would investigate the circumstances and take the necessary steps to locate and recover them, he said.
The investigation is expected to establish where the four family members are, whether they left voluntarily and whether the reported financial disputes or alleged threats played any role in their disappearance. Police may also examine claims concerning the gold-pawning business and outstanding financial obligations as part of efforts to determine what happened before the family disappeared.
