Alleged Torture: Rab says SC lawyer’s claim fictitious

Rapid Action Battalion yesterday claimed that the allegation of the elite force members torturing Supreme Court lawyer ABM Ibrahim Khalil was false and fabricated.

A video clip went viral on social media recently where Ibrahim Khalil claimed that Rab members picked him up from Supreme Court premises on March 10. He said the Rab men kept him in an unknown location where they gave him an injection leaving him unconscious. From there, the Rab members took him to their office near the Buriganga.

Ibrahim claimed that the Rab members later took him on the First Buriganga Bridge with his hands and legs tied and tried to push him into the river. They did not do that as a Rab member asked them not to push him into the river, he claimed in the video clip.

"Each of the Rab members tortured me indiscriminately and my whole body bears the marks of torture," he said.

Ibrahim said he has no personal enmity with any Rab members. They did it being influenced by a third person.

In a press release, Rab yesterday claimed that Ibrahim and his associates created obstacles to the force performing its duties and attacked a Rab-10 team when it went on Khaje Dewan Lane in Chawk Bazar at 5:30pm on March 11 to collect intelligence about a drug dealer.

When the Rab team went there, Ibrahim and his associates wanted to know the identities of the Rab men. The elite force members showed their ID cards and jacket, it added.

Even then Ibrahim and his associate engaged in a heated altercation with the Rab members. As the Rab members were going to a nearby place where they parked their motorcycles, Ibrahim and his associates shouted "Fake Rab" and carried out an attack from behind. They punched the Rab members indiscriminately leaving them injured, the Rab release added.

Locals came to aid of Rab men. The Rab members arrested Ibrahim with the help of locals but his associates managed to flee.

Around 12:40am on March 12, Rab filed a case with Chawk Bazar Police Station and handed Ibrahim over to the police station, Rab claimed.

The Rab also claimed that Ibrahim's claim that he was picked up from Supreme Court premises on March 10 was baseless as he was arrested from Khaje Dewan Lane in front of many people in broad daylight. This is proved by witnesses accounts and technology.

Rab also claimed that the allegation of torture brought by him in social media was imaginary and motivated as he was handed over to Chwak Bazar Police Station at 12:40am the next day.

The press release also said the authorities concerned was looking into how he issued a statement using social media while under custody of a law enforcement agency on March 12.

Asked about the matter, Inspector (investigation) of Chawk Bazar Police Station Kabir Hossain last night said there was no scope for anyone to issue such a statement while under police custody.

"He did not give any such statement while in our custody," he added.

He claimed that Ibrahim was out on bail.