In a case straight out of a mystery thriller, police have dropped a bombshell revelation that has left Gazipur residents stunned and social media ablaze: Khatib Mohammad Mohebbullah Miyaji, long believed to have been abducted by unknown assailants, was never kidnapped at all.
Instead, the highly respected imam of Tongi’s Morkun T&T Bazar Jame Mosque set off on a 400-kilometre, one-man odyssey across northern Bangladesh, ending up in Panchagarh, where he was discovered lying naked by a roadside, wearing nothing but a chain tied to his leg.
The bizarre twist was revealed on Tuesday, October 28, at a press briefing at the Gazipur Metropolitan Police Commissioner’s Office, where Additional Police Commissioner (Crime and Operations) Md. Taherul Haque Chauhan said the truth “defies every initial assumption.”
Followers of the khatib and several Islamist groups had accused ISKCON of abducting him after his disappearance.
What began as a panic-fuelled missing person’s case, with witnesses claiming that four or five men had whisked the khatib away in an ambulance, quickly fell apart once CCTV footage surfaced.
“There was no ambulance. No kidnappers. No abduction,” Chauhan confirmed. “The khatib walked out on his own.”
Surveillance footage pieced together the imam’s extraordinary journey: leaving home on October 22, walking past Nimtoli CNG Pump, then boarding a Shyamoli Paribahan bus from Dhaka’s Gabtoli Terminal around 2:00p. He was next spotted at the Pentagon Hotel in Bogura, stopping twice, for Zuhr and Maghrib prayers, before continuing northward.
By midnight, the khatib reached Panchagarh, walked past the District Police Lines, and, according to his own statement, stopped to relieve himself by the roadside. Suffering from a prostate problem, his clothes got soaked. Feeling cold and disoriented, he reportedly removed his garments, found a golden chain on the ground, tied it to his leg, and fell asleep in a semi-conscious daze.
He later woke up in Panchagarh Sadar Hospital, bewildered and mumbling prayers, where locals alerted police and religious scholars.
Police say the imam’s condition and motivations remain under investigation.
“We’re verifying his statement,” Chauhan said. “We cannot confirm whether someone influenced his actions or if this was a purely personal or medical episode. The chain, his mental state, and the circumstances are all under examination.”
For now, the “kidnapping” that gripped Gazipur has turned into a psychological and spiritual enigma, with residents divided between theories of divine visions, mental distress, and secret rituals.
Whatever the truth, the “Vanishing Khatib” has become the talk of Bangladesh a tale of mystery, faith, and a golden chain that has everyone asking: what really happened that night?