Lawmakers at a parliamentary body meeting said if involvement of officers of the RAB in the abduction and murder of seven people in Narayanganj is proved they would be given exemplary punishment as the “highest political leadership took it very seriously”.
The 10-member parliamentary standing committee on the home ministry yesterday expressed “serious concern” over frequent incidents of disappearances and abductions and said such “ominous” incidents had put the government in embarrassment.
State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan assured the watchdog that his ministry would not spare anyone no matter how powerful they are.
Lawmaker Abu Sayeed Al Mahmood Swapon from Joypurhat first raised the recent killings in Narayanganj.
Mozammel Hossain, Shamsul Hoque Tuku, Faridul Haque Khan, Abul Kalam Azad and Kamrun Nahar Chowdhury spoke and expressed their concerns over abductions.
“We have made it clear that the killings in Narayanganj and the alleged involvement of the RAB members are a matter of serious concern for the government. It has put both government and the MPs in embarrassment,” said Tipu Munshi, the standing committee chairman.
Munshi said he met prime minister on Monday and sought her guidelines.
“The highest political office had taken the issue very seriously. So those involved in the murders in Narayanganj must be given exemplary punishment,” said Tipu.
“The punishment should not be the same as with the case of an ordinary citizen because members of law enforcement agencies were tasked with protecting people, not doing any harm to them,” he said.
The Director General of the RAB Mokhlesur Rahman told the meeting that they would take actions against the members of the elite force, if found guilty.
He referred to the officers who was suspended for his involvement in a robbery in a shrine in Chittagong.
Replying to a question of journalists about the involvement of the son-in-law of a Chandpur lawmaker in the Narayanganj murders the chairman said “the offenders can in no way be spared, no matter how powerful they are”.
Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya’s son-in-law Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Muhammad was the commanding officer of the Narayanganj RAB.
Shahidul Islam, the father-in-law of slain councillor Nazrul Islam, told a press conference that RAB members abducted and killed the seven persons in exchange for Tk6 crore.
Shahidul said another Councillor Nur Hossain gave the money to the RAB to kill those seven. Nur Hossain is now absconding.
The government has already withdrawn all top officers of the law enforcement agencies including Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Muhammad.
“Allegations (against an MP’s son-in-law) can easily be raised. We are investigating the incident. The offenders must face punishment,” Asaduzzaman Khan reiterated his vow.