Boy found alive days after mother blocked highway with body

A teenager who was presumed dead and buried after going missing in Osmaninagar, Sylhet, has been found alive 17 days later.

Police rescued Rabiul Islam Naim, 14, from the Saidpur area of Nabiganj upazila in Habiganj on Friday (August 22).

Naim had gone missing on July 26 from a restaurant in Osmaninagar. On August 3, a body was recovered from a pond near Kulaura railway station in Moulvibazar. Believing it to be Naim’s, the family identified and buried the body, later accusing the restaurant owner of murder.

The case drew widespread attention when Naim’s mother and relatives blocked the Sylhet-Dhaka highway with the body, protesting police inaction.

Police now say Naim had been hiding at his maternal grandfather’s house due to a personal dispute with the restaurant owner. He has been taken into custody and sent to court in Moulvibazar to give a statement.

However, the identity of the buried body remains unknown. Legal steps will be taken based on DNA and autopsy reports if a claimant comes forward, authorities said.

Md. Omar Farooq Qawmi, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kulaura Police Station, confirmed that the previously filed murder case will be resolved.

"Legal action regarding the previously buried body will be taken based on the court's directive," he added.


"Pending the court's directive regarding the unidentified body.