Bangladeshi professor missing

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi professor internationally respected for his work on Islamic extremism has gone missing, police said on Thursday, with activists fearing the worst amid a spate of disappearances in recent months.

Mubashar Hasan, an assistant professor of political science at Bangladesh’s North South University (NSU), has not been seen since Tuesday afternoon, his family said. "We are very concerned. We hope law enforcement agencies will find him and return him to us," his uncle Monzur Hossain told AFP.

Hossain said his nephew, a former journalist, had become increasingly concerned about his safety just before his disappearance. Hasan had installed CCTV cameras around his home just last week after an unidentified man paid him a visit at home, his uncle said.

Police said Hasan’s mobile phone was switched off early on Tuesday evening after the prominent professor attended a conference. "We are trying our best to find him. There is no shortage of sincerity on our part," Anwar Hossain, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said.