A Dhaka court yesterday ordered judicial inquiry into the killing of Chhatra League’s Hazaribagh unit President Arju Mia in an alleged gunfight with elite force Rapid Action Battalion personnel on August 18.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Mahmud Adnan passed the order after scrutinising the case documents filed before it by the complainant.
The court also ordered that the case documents be sent to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sheikh Hafizur Rahman for further course of action in the case.
The order came only a day after the government withdrew RAB 2 Commanding Officer Lt Col Masud Rana.
Arju’s brother Masud Rana filed the petition case with the Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on August 23 against three RAB officials and an informant. He also mentioned five people as witnesses in the case.
The other accused are RAB 2 DAD Shahidur Rahman, Inspector Wahid and source Ratan.
The plaintiff claimed that his brother, a masters student of Kabi Nazrul College, was innocent. He also alleged that the Hazaribagh police refused to register a case when they had gone to the police station.
Arju was arrested by RAB members after the family members of Raja Mia filed a case with the police station alleging that the teenager had been beaten to death by Arju and his accomplices based on a false allegation.
Masud earlier claimed that his brother had not been responsible for the death of Raja, “he might have slapped Raja only. Others beat him up severely causing his death.” He also threatened Raja’s family for complaining to the police.
The case says that after the death of Raja, the four accused kidnapped Arju in a planned way to kill him. The next morning locals told Rana that Arju’s body had been seen behind Shikder Medical College Hospital.
The shootout took place when the RAB team headed to Baroikhal area to arrest Arju’s associates. “Some miscreants attacked the RAB team to snatch Arju around 3:30am, and Arju sustained bullet injuries while trying to escape,” RAB Assistant Director Major Maksud had said.
Arju’s brother claimed that his brother could not be killed “centring such a minor issue. Someone must have misled the elite force to achieve their political gain.”
On the other hand, locals alleged that Arju had killed another person of the same area, Jamir, over a land dispute two years ago, and returned to the area recently.