The family of Jubo League leader Zahid Siddiki Tarek, who was killed in a Rab "shootout" after his arrest over the killing of party colleague Reazul Haque Khan Milky, has ruled out the elite force's claim that Tarek was identified from a video footage as the murderer of Milky.
Mahbubur Rahman Siddiki, an elder brother of Tarek, alleged that Rab men had killed his brother through a staged gunfight.
Tarek was a joint secretary of the Dhaka City (south) unit of Jubo League and Milky its organising secretary. Milky was killed early Tuesday in front of Shoppers' World in the capital's Gulshan.
"My brother Tarek and Milky were close friends and party fellows. They had no feud between them. Tarek did not kill Reazul," Mahbub told the Dhaka Tribune at Dhaka Medical College morgue Thursday afternoon.
However, he declined to continue the conversation when asked about the latest development between Milky and Tarek and the intra-party feuds.
When contacted, Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan, director of Rab's intelligence wing, refuted the allegation that the force staged a drama to kill Tarek.
"He himself admitted to us that he was the person seen in the video footage [of a closed circuit camera at Shoppers' World] shooting at Milky. Tarek also admitted that he along with his cohorts made the attack following a feud," the Rab official said.
Rab personnel arrested Tarek and six other leaders and activists of Jubo League and Bangladesh Chhatra League four hours after Milky's murder. Tarek was arrested at a private hospital in Uttara where he was undergoing treatment with a bullet wound at his back. Rab claimed that Tarek received the bullet fired by one of his associates during the attack on Milky.
Tarek and Shah Alam – a member of the gang of Jubo League leader Enayet Kabir Chanchal – were shot dead in a "gunfight" on Wednesday night in the capital's Khilkhet when Rab was reportedly taking Tarek to Gulshan police station. Rab claims that the armed gang swooped on them to "snatch" Tarek.
Milky's younger brother Maj Rashidul Haque Khan, who is a former official of Rab 8, filed a case with Gulshan police station, accusing 11 people, including the detained seven.
Chanchal, an organising secretary of Dhaka City (north) Jubo League, is among the four others accused in the Milky murder case. He is on the run.
Jubo League and police sources said Tarek had over 50 cases against him, of which around 30 were filed for murder. The other cases involve extortion and tender-related violence.
During a visit to Milky's residence on Sir Syed Road in Mohammadpur Thursday afternoon, relatives and family members were found speechless in panic.
His mother Jahanara Ershad said Milky used to spare time at Motijheel AGB Colony where he had grown up and Tarek was his childhood friend. But she did not know if there was any feud between them.
She said Milky had gone to Gulshan with a person named Maruf Hasan Sagar after receiving a phone call. Sagar told the Dhaka Tribune that one of the killers had worn a mask and that he could not identify anyone.
Apart from feuds over tender schedules and formation of the party committee, Milky was killed due to a conflict over income from "housie games" (gambling) in Motijheel and collection of tolls.
Sources in the party said one of the top leaders of Dhaka City (south) unit of Jubo League had taken advantage of the feud playing a key role in executing his plans using Tarek and others.
A senior Jubo League leader, on condition of anonymity, said: "The top leader spent Tk7m to make the killing mission successful apart from supplying arms, ammunition and vehicles."
"The involvement of Dhaka City [north] unit Jubo League's Organising Secretary Enayet Kabir Chanchal in the killing is now exposed. However, the name of the top leader [of south unit] is yet to be disclosed," he said.
Meanwhile, the home ministry Thursday approved Rab to investigate the Milky killing case.
Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan said: "We [Rab] prayed to the home ministry to get the task of investigating the killing as we have been dealing with the case since the beginning."
