A father and son who had been on the run for over a year following the alleged abduction and rape of a twelve-year-old girl in Patiya have been apprehended in Cox’s Bazar. The Special Reserve Force (SRF) captured the duo during a joint law enforcement operation, ending a multi-month manhunt across regional jurisdiction boundaries.
A combined tactical team comprising personnel from SRF-7 (Chittagong) and SRF-15 (Cox’s Bazar) conducted a targeted raid on Thursday evening at approximately 5:30 pm. Officers struck near the Morichya Bazar area under Ramu Upazila, surrounding the suspects before they could evade capture. The arrested individuals have been identified as twenty-one-year-old Aditya Mallick and his forty-five-year-old father, Uttam Mallick, both residents of the Olir Hat Mallickpara neighborhood within Kachuwai Union, Patiya Upazila.
The charges stem from a criminal case filed at Patiya Police Station on 11 July 2025. According to court records, the victim was a minor aged twelve at the time of the offense. The formal complaint named Aditya and Uttam Mallick as primary accused parties under the Prevention of Women and Children Repression Act as well as the Child Marriage Restraint Act. Immediately following the filing of the case, both men went into hiding, abandoning their ancestral village to avoid police detection.
Official details regarding the arrest were released in a formal press statement issued by SRF-7 on Saturday at noon. Assistant Superintendent of Police Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, who serves as the Assistant Director (Media) for the unit, confirmed that intelligence teams had been tracking the suspects’ movements across district lines. Acting on verifiable tips regarding their secret hideout in Cox’s Bazar, the joint task force executed the covert strike without resistance.
Following their arrest in Ramu, the suspects were transferred to the Eidgaon Police Station custody in Cox’s Bazar for processing. They face imminent extradition back to Chittagong to undergo judicial proceedings under the relevant statutory provisions. Police officials emphasized that full legal protocols will be observed as investigators finalize their prosecution documentation, ensuring that justice is served through due court proceedings.
