The police yesterday arrested five more RAB members suspected to be involved in the gruesome seven murders of Narayanganj, while a court placed the men on an eight-day remand.
Khandokar Mohid Uddin, superintendent of police in Narayanganj, told the Dhaka Tribune that police arrested the five officials of RAB 11 in the early hours of yesterday based on credible evidence of their involvement with the murders. However, he refused to disclose details on how their link to the crime was found as the investigation was still ongoing.
Following the arrests, the five officials of Rapid Action Battalion were placed before the court of Narayanganj Senior Judicial Magistrate Chadni Rupom after being shown arrested in two murder cases filed regarding the abduction and killing.
The arrestees are Habildar Mohammad Emdadul Haque, Radio Operator Md Arif Hossain, Lance Naik Hira Mia, Sepoy Md Belal Hossain and guard Abu Tayeb.
Mamunur Rashid, the investigation officer and officer-in-charge of district Detective Branch (DB) of police, asked for a 10-day police remand, but was granted eight days of remand by the court, said Advocate Sakhawat Hossain, president of the District Lawyers Association.
He added that the arrested five officials admitted their involvement in the murders and told the court that RAB officials Lt Col Tareq Sayed Mohammad, Major Arif Hossain and MM Rana – who had all previously been arrested in connection with the Narayanganj murders – had forcefully ordered them to hide the bodies of the seven people who were killed after abduction.
Sources in the district police said the five RAB officials have been taken to the Masdair Police Line for interrogation under top security.
Asked whether any more arrests would be made, Narayanganj SP Mohid said the list of suspects had more names including other RAB officials, but refused to disclose further details because of the ongoing probe.
Sources said investigators have found clues linking the direct or indirect involvement of at least 35 people, including around 23 to 29 members of RAB, with the gruesome murders.
Currently, 15 people including the previously arrested three senior RAB officials are behind bars, while six more members of RAB 11 have given confessional statements in court as witnesses to the abduction and killing.
Replying to a question about the progress in investigating the case, the SP added that the seven-murder case was a big case and all the people of the country were waiting for the trial to take place. The police were carefully investigating and it would need more time to finish the probe, he said.
On April 27, Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam, three of his aides and driver, and senior lawyer Chandan Sarkar and his driver were kidnapped from the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road. Three days later, six bodies were found floating in the Shitalakkhya. The seventh body was recovered from the river the next day.
Selina Islam Beauty, the wife of Nazrul, filed a case with Fatullah Model police station naming Nur Hossain as the prime accused; while Chandan Sarker’s son-in-law Bijoy Kumar Pal filed a separate case with Fatullah police station for the killing of Chandan and his driver Ibrahim.
