OUR CORRESPONDENT, Patuakhali

An eight-month-old infant was abandoned on a Dhaka-bound launch in Patuakhali’s Bauphal upazila on Wednesday night after a man identifying himself as the child’s father disappeared.

Passengers said the launch had left Kalaiya launch ghat in Bauphal for Dhaka around 4:00pm.

At Dholia, a man boarded with a baby girl, spoke briefly with passengers and sat on the deck.

He later told nearby passengers he would bring the child’s mother aboard and asked them to look after the baby before getting off. When the launch resumed its journey, he did not return.

Passengers grew concerned when the baby began crying and no guardian was found. They informed the launch authorities, who placed the child under the care of several female passengers as the vessel continued towards Dhaka.

Md Sohel, a passenger, said, “The man boarded the launch at Dholia ghat and sat beside us for a while. Just before the launch departed, he left the baby with us, saying he would bring the child’s mother. But he never came back.”

Supervisor of MV Bandhan-5, Md Sajal, said the reason behind the man’s disappearance remains unknown. “The

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