Human traffickers will not be spared: Rab DG
Rapid Action Battalion's Director General (DG) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun warned that those involved in human trafficking and responsible behind the killing of 26 Bangladeshis in Libya will not be spared and appropriate legal action will be taken against them.
"What has happened in Libya is tragic. We have already arrested the mastermind behind it. We will not give concessions to anyone and our operation is still ongoing," said the DG.
He was speaking at the launching ceremony of an application for monitoring the elite force members' treatment at Rab's media centre in the capital Karwan Bazar yesterday.
At the programme, the Rab DG also provided financial assistance to four family members of journalists who died from Covid-19.
"We are conducting our usual operational activities. Members of the force are constantly working against narcotics, militancy and terrorism during the period," he said.
Regarding financial aid to journalists, Rab DG said, "We do not want anyone to lose their relatives in this way. We do not to do such ceremony and join in such program. We will meet in other events and we will stand by the journalists."
Regarding the operational update during the period of Covid-19, Lt Col Sarwar-Bin-Quasem, director of legal and media wing of Rab, said they have arrested around 2,000 people involved with narcotics trade and recovered narcotics worth around Tk 60-70 crore.
Besides, the elite force arrested around 26 people involved with spreading rumours, he said.
Addressing the programme, Rab Additional Director General (Operations) Colonel Tofail Mostafa Sarwar said, "We have tried to make a model for coronavirus treatment. We have taken some steps to reduce the pressure from hospitals of the country."
"By renting community centres in the country, we have set up temporary hospitals. We have hired some nurses, paramedics and patients. All sorts of arrangements have been made there, including oxygen," he said.
"We have also created an app to know the updates of the affected force members," said the additional DG.
According to officials, the application will have all kinds of details of affected Rab officials including age, blood group, overall condition and location of work station so that the higher officials can get every update.
Also present on the occasion were Abul Khair and Asaduzzaman Biku, president and general secretary of Crime Reporters Association of Bangladesh (CRAB), and high officials of Rab were present at the ceremony. The elite force gifted two sophisticated oxygen concentrators to CRAB at the programme, so that corona-infected crime reporters get oxygen quickly when needed.
Abul Khair thanked the elite force for gifting medical supplies to crime reporters.