Zinia DU abduction: Lupa, a wife of several avatars
She is a woman covered in myriads.
Nur Nazma Akhter Alias Lupa Talukder, 42, who has been arrested on charges of abducting Zinia, a nine-year-old, used to tell people she was a journalist working for various media outlets.
Her Facebook profile says she’s a party activist, an aspiring poet, and a staff member of NGOs. Some pictures of her posing with ruling party leaders did rounds on social media.
Investigators say Zinia was kidnapped after she offered her money. They are investigating whether Lupa has ties to any trafficking ring.
Police rescued Zinia from Narayanganj on Sunday night and arrested Lupa in the Fatullah city district of Amtola. Lupa is now on a two-day remand in an abduction case filed with a police station in Shahbagh.
The additional deputy commissioner at the Ramna Police Division, Mishu Biswas, told The Daily Star that Lupa has a criminal record. “She was once convicted in a triple-murder case, and charges of fraud were also made against her.”
Zinia, who used to sell flowers in the TSC area of Dhaka University, was kidnapped on September 1.
Zinia lives in the TSC region with her mum and two brothers. Her mother Senura Begum told reporters that she last saw her daughter talking to two women near Suhrawardy Udyan after she was gone.
Lupa’s Facebook profile states that she is Agnee TV’s managing director, the Bangladesh Awami Peshajibi League’s general secretary, and former Bangladesh Chhatra League student affairs secretary.
She also used to claim to be a senior crime reporter at various newspapers, web portals, and television channels, and a member of the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists and the Dhaka Union of Journalists.
She is seen receiving the 2019 Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) Award from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief on her Facebook profile.
Many on social media have criticized her apparent affiliation with the ruling party and the organizations of journalists.
Police said Lupa had yet to prove what she said was accurate about her career.
ADC Mishu Biswas said, “She claimed to be a member of the press club but couldn’t provide any evidence. She just gave us a Mohona TV business card where she claims she’d once worked. She couldn’t provide anything else.”
Lupa told officers she is a former leader of the BCL and now works for the technical unit of the ruling party, Mishu told All Bangla Newspaper.
Lupa told the police about the kidnapping that she felt sorry for Zinia and was taking her home. Police, however, said the real motive could be different.
Mahbub Alam, the joint commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Department, told The Daily Star that officers are investigating whether she has ties with child traffickers.
Lupa’s Facebook profile, where she shared her photographs and poems with ruling party leaders and ministers, has more than 10,000 followers.
