A High Court judge yesterday raised questions on the “completeness” of the investigation report submitted by Rapid Action Battalion regarding the sensational Narayanganj seven murders. It also questioned the “sincerity” of the elite force in preparing the report.
After the day’s hearing, the bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore said they would pass an order in this regard in January.
It also ordered Shahjahan Ali Mollah, former additional secretary of the Public Administration Ministry, to continue leading the seven-member government probe body and complete the investigation.
The RAB submitted the report to the attorney general’s office on November 23 to be placed before the bench yesterday.
At the outset of the hearing, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam read out the opinion part of the report before the court. It said the RAB headquarters had directed its officials concerned to rescue the seven abduction victims alive, but there was no activity of RAB 11 in this regard. “They abstained from obeying it,” the report reads.
At that time, one of the judges said: “After the submission of the report, I read the news that five more people gave confessional statements. What will happen to them? Is the report incomplete then?”
Evading a direct answer, the attorney general replied that it could not be considered as final. “But some of the accused may use this report... I am afraid how they will do so.”
This was the fourth and final report the RAB has submitted to the court.
Mahbubey Alam then read out the court’s previous order where it had directed the RAB to conduct a departmental inquiry as to whether any member of the battalion was involved in the commission of the offence or deliberate negligence in taking prompt action soon after receiving information of the abduction.
The court said: “I think it cannot happen this way. The present situation and the previous situation are not similar. If the court had not issued the order, people would not have come to give deposition. The RAB claimed through a press conference that none of their members were involved in the incident. After the court order, people came and gave depositions.”
Mentioning that the confessional statements of the five new suspects had not been incorporated in the report, the court said: “Their names are not here. It is also a question of how sincerely they [RAB] prepared the report.
“Most people have confidence in RAB but some are also aggrieved at them.”
Regarding the government-formed probe body, the court also said: “We read in the newspapers that the chairman [of the seven-member panel] has changed. Before reforming the committee, the court should have been informed.”
The attorney general replied: “He got promoted and has become the acting secretary of the PSC [Public Service Commission].”
The court then said: “The one who was leading the committee since the beginning will complete the report.”
After the proceedings, Mahbubey Alam told reporters that reports of the RAB and the ministry would not be used during the case proceedings. These would help the government understand the incident.
“The trial court will rely on the report of the Detective Branch [which is handling the case],” he added.
On May 5, the High Court bench on its own volition directed the RAB to form a departmental inquiry committee and also directed the government to form another to look into the incident. Police were also asked to give protection to the witnesses.
Shahjahan Mollah to continue
Former additional secretary Shahjahan Mollah was made head of the seven-member probe body, which was formed following the High Court order. It could not come up with a full report though seven months have passed since the incident.
On Tuesday, Shahjahan was transferred to the PSC as its acting secretary and subsequently removed from the probe committee.
21 RAB men were involved
In the probe report, the elite force RAB said they had found the involvement of 21 of its members including former commanding officer of RAB 11 unit Tareq Sayeed.
Tareq and Maj Arif Hossain were involved from the abduction to the killing of the seven persons including local panel mayor Nazrul Islam and lawyer Chandan Sarker. Lt Commander MM Rana was partially involved, the report says.
The others found involved are SI Purnendu Bala; ASI Bazlu; sergeant Enamul; AB Arif Hossain; naiks Nazim (driver) and Delwar (driver); lance naiks Hira Mia and Belal Hossain; soldiers Mohiuddin Munshi, Tajul, Asad, Abdul Alim and Al Amin; sepoy Toiyab; constables Shihab Uddin and Al Amin; and habilders Emdad and Nasir (driver).
RAB denies HQ involvement
The investigation team led by Additional Director General (administration) Aftab Uddin has denied allegations that its top officials at the headquarters were involved in the seven murders. The claim contradicts the testimonies of three sacked RAB 11 officials who confessed that Additional Director General (ADG) Col Ziaul Ahsan had ordered the killings.
According to the report, the RAB headquarters and its intelligence wing tried to rescue the victims alive but failed as then RAB 11 chief Lt Col Tareq Sayeed Mohammad concealed information from the headquarters.
It claims that the headquarters succeeded in identifying the suspects very quickly.
The intelligence wing of RAB discovered the involvement of Lt Col Tareq, Maj Arif, Lt Commander Masud and their subordinate staff in the abduction around 1:30pm of April 28, the report reads.
But in their confessional statements given before a Narayanganj court, the three top officials repeatedly claimed that they had committed the crime because it was difficult to disobey an order that came from such a high official.
The seven people – Nazrul, his driver and three associates, senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar and his driver – were abducted on April 27 after they came out of court. Later their mutilated bodies were found floating on the Shitalakhya River.
Families of the victims blamed RAB members for the abductions and killings in affiliation with former Awami League ward councillor Nur Hossain. Nazrul’s father-in-law alleged that the RAB had abducted and killed the seven in exchange for Tk6 crore.
Nur is now in policy custody in West Bengal on charges of illegal entry.
Later Lt Col Tareq, son in-law of Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Maj Arif and Lt Commander Rana were were sent to forced retirement on May 6.
