18 Rab officials pulled back to HQ

The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has pulled back 18 of Rab-3 men including a company commander to its headquarters from Comilla last Friday.

Mallik Fakhrul Islam, commanding officer of Rab-3, told The Daily Star that the Rab personnel were attached to headquarters following an allegation.

"They are now under investigation," he said.

Islam declined to specify the allegations.

However, Dhaka Metropolitan Police this morning published a news item on its official news portal saying 18 Rab men were attacked to headquarters over allegations of embezzlement of money seized during arrest of four persons last Friday. The item was withdrawn hours later.

In a statement this evening, the Rab chief refuted the allegation and strongly cticised the DMP for publishing such news report without “verifying with proper authorities of the elite force”.

Maj Ali Ahsan, company commander of Crime Protection Company (CPC) of Rab-3, is among the 18 Rab officials.

A team of the CPC led by Deputy Additional Director Md Helal Uddin arrested four people including a yaba dealer and seized 260 piece yaba tablets worth around Tk 1.04 lakh on May 14 from Mugdha Bishwaroad in Comilla, said Mustafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge (Investigation) of Mugdha Police Station.

A case was filed with the police station on that day.

In the FIR, it was mentioned that Tk 37,881 was seized from the possession of the arrestees, the police official said.

The OC said they have found disparities between the case statement and the information given by the arrestees in primary interrogations.

“In the preliminary interrogation, one of the arrestees said they had more money with them than the amount shown in the FIR,” he added.

The OC however said arrestees usually provide different types of information on an issue in interrogations.

The Rab, which was formed in 2004 to combat militancy and serious crimes, has recently come under fire from various quarters at home and abroad following allegations against the elite force of carrying out abductions and killings.

The most gruesome abduction took place late last month in Narayanganj city.

On April 27, Narayanganj panel mayor and ward councillor Nazrul Islam and his four aides, along with lawyer Chandan Sarker and his driver were kidnapped separately but at the same time, after they came out of the court area. Their bodies were found floating in the Shitalakkhiya river days after the incident.

Subsequently, Nazrul’s father-in-law Shahidul Islam alleged Narayanganj ward-4 Councillor Nur Hossain of bribing Rab men to kill Nazrul for Tk 6 crore.

Following the allegations, three Rab officials -- Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Major Arif Hossain and Lt Commander SM Masud Rana -- were forced into retirement.

They have later been placed on remand after their arrest for their alleged link with the abduction and killings.