At least 18 members of the Rapid Action Battalion were recalled to its headquarters yesterday following allegations of misappropriating money seized from four detained suspects last week, sources said.
They were withdrawn from their posts after an initial enquiry found proof of their involvement in embezzling Tk90,000 which they had seized from four people who were arrested in Comilla on Friday.
However, senior RAB officials denied the embezzlement allegations and claimed that the 18 RAB personnel were transferred to headquarters as part of a reshuffling in the department.
The 18 RAB members stand accused of a crime at a time when three top officials of RAB 11 have been arrested as suspects in connection with the sensational seven murders in Narayanganj.
According to sources in the elite anti-crime force and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Maj Ali Ahsan, commander of crime prevention company (CPC) 3, was among the 18 RAB personnel allegedly censured.
The sources said a team of RAB 3 arrested four people and seized Tk1.5 lakh from them, but only Tk60,000 was recorded in the seizure list.
The sources added that RAB’s high officials took action against the 18 men after they were informed of the missing money by the family members of the detained persons.
Another source in RAB said several other allegations have been made against members of CPC3 in the past.
Speaking with the Dhaka Tribune, Wing Commander ATM Habibur Rahman, director of RAB’s legal and media wing, claimed that the RAB officials were not removed, but“attached” to headquarters for a “special reason.” He also denied the allegations of embezzlement.
When asked whether the RAB 3 members were being replaced, the director said: “No one has been replaced yet as the 18 RAB 3 officials have been attached [to headquarters] on a temporary basis.”
Members of RAB are usually transferred to headquarters from a battalion due to internal necessity or for controversial activities.
Meanwhile, the DMP’s news portal, www.dmpnews.org, mentioned in a report yesterday that the crime prevention company of RAB 3 in Comilla arrested four suspects with Tk1.5 lakh, but the RAB officials recorded only Tk60,000 in the seizure list, and misappropriated the rest of the money. The DMP website also mentioned that 18 members of RAB 3 were withdrawn after a primary investigation found them guilty.
However, in a mysterious move, the DMP authorities later took down the report on the RAB officials from its website.
The DMP also posted an explanation, saying the report had been removed as it did not comply with its “policy.” However, the DMP did not clarify whether the contents of the report were wrong or false.
DMP officials could not be reached yesterday for comments on exactly what policy the report allegedly violated.
In a rejoinder yesterday evening, RAB blasted the DMP report as “shameless and false” and “intentionally done by one law enforcement agency against another to undermine morale.”
