Businessman Pintu Das, family of four missing in Chandpur

A businessman from Chandpur, Pintu Das, his wife and their two sons have been reportedly missing since Wednesday, with police yet to determine whether the family went into hiding or disappeared under suspicious circumstances.

Pintu Das, owner of SK Shilpalay at Madina Market in Chandpur city, went missing with his wife Rimi Das, elder son Priyam Das, a Class 10 student, and younger son Rupam Das on August 26, according to family relatives.

Upoma De, a relative and joint convener of the district Hindu Buddhist Christian Student Unity Council, said Pintu had been facing mounting debts and had recently received threats from an individual.

Pintu reportedly ran a gold-filling business and had borrowed money from several cooperative societies. Some customers now claim they have been unable to recover gold they had pledged with him.

Rasel Khan of Raghunathpur said he had pledged 2.5 bhori of gold jewellery for Tk 50,000. After arranging the money to reclaim the jewellery, he said Pintu asked him to return the following day. He later learned that Pintu and his family were missing and complained to police over the pledged gold.

Two other customers, Zahidul Islam and Shubhankar Majumder, said they had pledged 12 ana and 10 ana of gold respectively with Pintu.

Pintu had reportedly shifted his business several times before opening SK Shilpalay at Madina Market about five to six months ago. His ancestral home is in Fatikchhari, Chattogram, while relatives are said to live in Cumilla and Muradnagar.

Police said they were informed about the family’s disappearance only recently and have begun looking into the matter.

Chandpur Sadar Model Police Station’s officer-in-charge said necessary steps would be taken to locate the four family members and establish what happened to them.

Meanwhile, uncertainty over their whereabouts has intensified concerns among relatives and customers who say money and pledged gold remain at stake.