The High Court (HC) on Wednesday ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to inform the whereabouts of two missing BNP leaders on January 4. 

The court issued a rule seeking explanation as to why the inaction by the authorities concerned to produce the BNP leaders before the court won’t be declared illegal.

The IGP was asked to submit a report on the update of the missing BNP leaders on January 4. They went missing on December 14. 

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An HC bench of Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman and Justice Md Bashir Ullah passed the order after hearing two separate petitions filed by the missing leaders’ families.

Senior lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali accompanied by Barrister Kaisar Kamal and Ruhul Quddus Kajal stood for the victims in the court.

The missing BNP leaders are Anwar Hossain, assistant office secretary of Kahaloo upazila unit and Delwar Hossain, general secretary of Birkedar union of the same upazila.

Earlier on Tuesday, lawyer Kaisar Kalam, on behalf of the families, submitted a writ petition with the HC.

The IGP, Detective Branch (DB), the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kahaloo police station were made respondents to the petitions while a hearing was scheduled to be held on Wednesday. 

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The families’ members alleged that some people posing as members of the DB picked up Anwar on his way to attend an event at Bangladesh Rural Development Board at 5 pm on December 14.  

Later, he was taken to the district’s Dupchanchia Upazila and asked to call Delwar from his mobile phone. Responding to the call he went there and both of them remained missing since then.  

Though the families communicated with law enforcers and filed two general diaries, no progress was noticed in this connection before the submission of the petitions.  

Finally, they submitted the writ petitions with the HC on Tuesday, seeking intervention.