Narayanganj Rab Raid: They showed no IDs before half an hour passed
The Rab members who raided a village in Narayanganj's Sonargaon early Saturday neither wore their vest jackets nor showed their IDs to the villagers until they were half an hour into the raid, said two witnesses.
Rab officers said these claims were outright lies.
During the raid the Borgaon area for arresting a suspected murderer, a 65-year-old trader was shot dead and a pharmacy owner was shot in the leg. Ramiza Begum, widow of Abul Kashem, said she saw her husband get shot from a close range.
According to a High Court order issued on April 7, 2003, it is mandatory for law enforcers to disclose their identity and show ID cards on demand to the person arrested or the people present at the scene of the arrest.
There is also a Police Headquarters instruction that says cops arresting suspects while wearing plainclothes must show their ID cards and wear their agency's vest jackets.
The suspect for whom the raid conducted was a garment factory worker named Abdus Selim. He confessed to a court yesterday that he had killed a woman with whom he had a relationship.
Two of Selim's neighbours said they saw the men in T-shirts and trousers trying to break into Selim's house through the collapsible gate shortly before midnight. When some locals came out and asked them who they were, the men did not reply.
"The strangers were not showing their ID cards and they were not wearing Rab vests," said a woman named Tasmila Akhter. At one stage, they broke the lock of the gate and knocked on the door. Selim's parents wanted to know who they were, but the Rab men still did not disclose their identity.
After half an hour of door-knocking and argument with the locals, they showed their ID cards and said they came to arrest an accused, Taslima added.
Echoing Taslima, another witness named Nazma Akhter said after breaking the lock, they revealed their identity.
Rab-11 Commanding Officer Lt Col Tanvir Mahmud Pasha termed the claims baseless and said Rab members wore their vests and showed their ID cards.
He claimed that in a bid to snatch the accused, a large number of people attacked Rab men with sharp weapons and beat up Rab members. They also tried to snatch the weapons from Rab members. "We had no alternative but to fire back. But we tried to fire shots in the air so that nobody got shot," the Rab CO told The Daily Star.
Wishing anonymity, two former and current Rab officers said as per their operation procedure, when a team in plainclothes goes to arrest a suspect, the members will show their IDs and wear their vests just before making the arrest.
As criminals flee if they see Rab members, the officers raid in plainclothes. After they are convinced that the accused or the suspect will not be able to flee, they wear their vest and display their ID cards.
Meanwhile, Rab filed a case against 21 named, including Abdus Selim and 70 to 80 unnamed people, accusing them of attacking the Rab members and attempting to snatch a suspect from custody.
In the case filed with Sonargaon Police Station, Rab officer Nasir Uddin said when the Rab team was attacked by a gang with firearms and sharp weapons, the members used their firearms in self-defence.
Later, an elderly man was found dead and a 50-year-old was injured, reads the case statement.
Rab yesterday showed five family members of deceased Abul Kashem arrested. The arrestees are Kashem's son Nazrul Islam, 40, nephews Hazrat Ali, 36, Jahangir Hossain, 42, and Amanullah, 38, and grandson Rubel, 31.
Fifteen other villagers who were picked up by Rab on Saturday were released after 18 hours.
The male members of most of the houses in the village fled the area fearing arrests.
Amina, wife of Kashem's son Nazrul, said her father-in-law was killed, husband arrested and the other male members had left home.
"I do not know whether we will mourn or file a case," she said.
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