For years, Asadul Haque Kajol and three of his family members in Chapainawabganj endured the torment of being falsely accused in a case involving a crime they had no part in – one that, in fact, never happened.

Accused of abducting and murdering a teenage girl who was later found alive after seven years, the family said they suffered months of fear, humiliation and sleepless nights, while spending several lakh taka in legal procedures to prove their innocence.

Their ordeal began after 17-year-old Ayesha Khatun disappeared from Khale Alampur village in Bholahat upazila in 2019.

Although Ayesha went missing in 2019, her family filed a general diary with Bholahat Police Station in 2021.

In July 2023, Ayesha’s mother, Aduri Begum, filed a case accusing Kajol, his wife Nazma Begum, and Kajol’s two brothers, Mainul Hasan and Babu, of abducting Ayesha, murdering her and disposing of her body.

“We lost everything due to the false cases -- our money, our reputation, our peace. Our family has been devastated,” Kajol recently told The Daily Star.

“We lived in constant fear of arrest and uncertainty over the case outcome over the last three years,” he said.

The accusations disrupted the lives of the family members as neighbours and acquaintances began distancing themselves from them. Employment opportunities for the three male accused also shrank as many viewed them with suspicion.

Kajol, a mason by profession, and his family repeatedly maintained that they had no involvement in Ayesha’s disappearance and knew nothing about where she had gone. However, only some neighbours believed them.

“In the eyes of some neighbours, we were already guilty. We were murderers. That was most painful,” Kajol said.

The Criminal Investigation Department investigated the abduction and murder case for nearly a year before submitting a report to the court clearing the accused after finding no evidence against them.

But the ordeal did not end there.

Around 10 months later, Aduri filed another case with similar allegations against the same four family members. The district court later sent the matter to Bholahat Police Station for investigation.

While the family continued to battle the cases, Ayesha had reportedly been moving through different areas, including Dhaka, Savar, Kushtia and Rajshahi.

The mystery finally unravelled earlier this month.

On May 4, Md Alamgir, a neighbour of Kajol, working as a bus helper, noticed a young woman near the Rail Gate area in Rajshahi and suspected she might be the missing Ayesha.

After speaking with her and confirming details, he contacted Kajol.

Alamgir later brought her to Bholahat on his bus, from where police took her into custody, bringing Kajol’s family’s ordeal to an end.

The following day, Sub-Inspector Kamal Hossain of Bholahat Police Station, the investigating officer of the second case, produced Ayesha before a Chapainawabganj court magistrate, who recorded her statement and handed her over to her family.

“When I learned she had been found, tears came to my eyes – not out of joy, but relief,” Kajol said.

He had spent around Tk 6 lakh fighting the cases over the past three years.

“Finally, the truth has come out and our innocence has been proven. The woman’s family filed the cases either out of vengeance or as part of a conspiracy. I will definitely take legal action against those who put our lives through such uncertainty and agony,” Kajol said.

Talking to The Daily Star, SI Kamal Hossain said police would submit a report to the court seeking clearance for the four accused now that the woman had been found.

During primary interrogation and her deposition before a magistrate, Ayesha said Kajol and his family members did not abduct her, adding that her mother insisted that she implicate them.

“During my investigation, Ayesha’s brother even said they talked to her three months after she went missing in 2019, when Ayesha told them that she was in Amin Bazar in Dhaka and would not return to Chapainawabganj,” the SI said.

“It seems to me that they might have sued the family either out of vengeance or for financial gain. The accused can take legal action, if they want, for being harassed with a false case,” the investigating officer told The Daily Star.

Attempts to contact Aduri were unsuccessful as her phone was found switched off.