Police have recovered a laptop belonging to German tourist Kirill Lander-Weber, whose bag went missing at Natore Railway Station on October 7. The laptop was recovered from Kapuriapatti area of Natore town on Sunday night and handed over to the tourist by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Ali Hossain Fakir at a ceremony at Police Headquarters in Dhaka on Tuesday. Police officers from Natore district were also rewarded for their role in the recovery.
Rajshahi Range Deputy Inspector General Md Ashik Sayeed and other senior police officials attended the handover ceremony on October 13.
According to police, Lander-Weber had arrived at Natore Railway Station by train via Santahar after visiting several historical sites in Bogura. A young man wearing a yellow vest allegedly introduced himself as a railway employee and struck up a conversation with the tourist.
The tourist later left his bag with the man before going to withdraw money from an ATM and arrange his train ticket. When he returned, both the man and his bag were missing.
The bag contained a laptop, a camera and other valuables. Police collected CCTV footage from the railway station and launched an investigation. Several law enforcement agencies were also involved in efforts to recover the belongings.
The laptop was recovered from Noor Cloth Store in Kapuriapatti at around 9:30pm on Sunday, October 11, after police traced its location using tracking information, officials said.
Natore Superintendent of Police Mohammad Shariful Haque said a student, Antar Kumar Saha, and his father, Amal Kumar Saha, were taken into police custody for questioning in connection with the recovery.
According to the SP, the father claimed that he had found the laptop abandoned beneath a seat on the Titumir Express train at Madhnagar Railway Station on October 8. He later took it to his in-laws’ home in Naogaon and discussed the matter with his son.
Police traced the device after it was switched on. The tourist subsequently verified the laptop’s identity by checking its identifying details and contents, the SP said.
The police are still trying to identify the person seen taking the tourist’s bag. Investigators are examining CCTV footage and other information to establish the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and recover the remaining belongings.
Before the laptop was recovered, Lander-Weber travelled to Rajshahi in search of his missing possessions. Police arranged accommodation and meals for him there. He later left for Dhaka aboard the Padma Express on Thursday afternoon.
In a separate gesture of support, Mukti Mahmud, an employee of a private organisation in Dhaka, gifted the tourist a MacBook. The gift was handed over to him in the presence of police at Hazaribagh Police Station on Saturday evening.
Although the recovery of the laptop has brought some relief to the tourist, his camera and other missing belongings have yet to be found.
The case has drawn attention to the challenges faced by foreign visitors when personal belongings go missing during travel. Police say efforts are continuing to identify the person who took the bag and recover the remaining items.
