Why not ex-Rab men shown held for murder?

Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad and Major Arif Hossain

A Narayanganj court today ordered law enforcers to explain why two former Rab officers were not shown arrested on charge of killing seven persons including Narayanganj city panel mayor Nazrul Islam.

Mamunur Rashid Mondal, investigation officer of the case, will have to reply within four days.

The two former Rab officials -- Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad and Major Arif Hossain -- were arrested at Dhaka cantonment yesterday under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and are now undergoing interrogation on a five-day remand.

Senior Judicial Magistrate KM Mohiuddin sought the explanation after fellows of senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar, one of the seven victims, moved a petition in this regard.

Tareque, Arif and another former Rab official, Lt Commander SM Masud Rana, were arrested yesterday and early today from Dhaka Cantonment for their alleged involvement with the killings.  

They were arrested as per a High Court order that directed law enforcers on May 11 to arrest the three ex-Rab officials as suspects in the seven-murder case.

Of them, Lt Col Tareque was the commanding officer of Rab-11and son-in-law of Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya.

Tareque and Arif were placed on a five-day remand, 10 hours after their arrest yesterday.

On May 6, the three officials were forced into retirement after Nazrul's father-in-law Shahidul Islam alleged that some officials of Rab-11 had killed Nazrul in exchange for Tk 6 crore from councillor Nur Hossain and his accomplices.

On April 27, Nazrul, his four aides and Chandan Sarker and his driver were kidnapped near Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah around the same.

Six bodies, including that of Nazrul and Chandan, were found floating in the Shitalakkhya river on April 30, and another was found the following day. The other victims are Swapan, Tajul Islam, Liton, Jahangir and Ibrahim.