The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of police has rescued the 10 and 11-year-old daughters from their Bangladeshi father’s custody following a petition filed with the High Court by their Japanese mother.

Jisanul Haque, additional superintendent of police at CID, confirmed the development on Sunday (August 22) night.

He, however, did not disclose when and from where they were rescued. But he said, “Details in this regard would be revealed later.”

On 19 August, the HC ordered the Bangladeshi father and paternal aunt to appear before it on 31 August with the two children responding to the writ petition filed by their Japanese physician mother Nakano Erico.

The court also issued a travel ban for 30 days so that Sharif Imran could not flee the country with the two daughters.

It was learned that Japanese doctor Nakano Erico, 48, and Bangladeshi-American Sharif Imran, 58, were married on 11 July, 2008 in accordance with Japanese law. They moved to Tokyo and had three daughters in their 12 years of conjugal life. The three daughters are Jasmine Malika, 11, Laila Lina, 10, and Sania Hena, 7.

On 18 January, 2021, Sharif Imran filed for divorce from Erico. Then, on 21 January, Imran appealed to the “American School in Japan” authorities to take his daughter Jasmine Malik away. But the school authorities rejected his plea since Erico did not agree to that. Then, one day, Imran picked up Jasmine Malika and Laila Lina from the bus stop while they were returning home by the school bus, and took them to a rented house.

On 25 January, Imran through his lawyer applied to Erico to hand over the passports of those two daughters, but Erico rejected the request and filed a lawsuit with Tokyo Family Court on 28 January seeking an order to take the two daughters into her custody. The court in Japan then issued an order instructing Imran to let Erico meet with the daughters on 7, 11, and 14 February, but Imran violated the court order, allowing the mother to meet the daughters only once.

Then on 9 February on the basis of ‘false information’, Imran obtained new passports for his daughters, and on 21 February, he came to Bangladesh via Dubai with Jasmine and Laila. Three months later, on 31 May, the Tokyo Family Court ordered the transfer of custody of Jasmine and Laila to their mother Erico, taking into account the statements made by the two daughters and the circumstances, overall.

However, as the two daughters were in Bangladesh, Erico consulted with a Bangladeshi human rights activist and lawyer. On 18 July, Erico came to Bangladesh, but Imran at first refused to allow her to meet the daughters. Later, on 27 July, switching off Erico’s mobile phone he let her meet the daughters, but he kept the mother blindfolded.