The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Sunday filed a case against more than 21 people over the clash between the elite force and locals in Sonargaon upazila of Naraynganj.
Nasir Uddin, a warrant officer of RAB-11, filed the case at the Sonargaon police station, said Inspector Ahsan Ullah.
Among the accused is the son of the old man who was shot dead by the RAB during the clash.
RAB also detained six people over the clash. The detainees were handed over to the Sonargaon police station and sent to jail through court.
The six areestees are Nazrul Islam, 40, son of Abul Kashem, who was shot dead in RAB firing, Jahangir Alam, 45, Aman Ullah, 38, Hazrat Ali, 43, Rubel, 28, and Md Salim, 23.
According to the statement of the case made by the RAB, a team of RAB in plainclothes conducted a drive in the Borogaon area of Sonargaon upazila to detain a suspect, named Abdus Salim, accused of murdering a garment worker named Rozina.
Rozina was killed last Thursday night.
"At one stage, local people obstructed RAB and tried to snatch away the accused," said RAB.
The locals, however, said RAB were in plainclothes and refused to identify themselves, hence they tried to prevent taking away their neighbour. Some of them even called 999, fearing they were miscreants.
By the time RAB did identify themselves, the situation had gotten out of control. Abul Kashem was killed by a single bullet to the chest, and another person was shot in the legs.
RAB then detained 20 people for interrogation. After some time, 15 of them were released.
Nur Hossain, who was released after interrogation, said: "We are daily wage workers. We are afraid of what may happen in the future.”
Meanwhile, Nadia, the daughter of Nazrul Islam, told Dhaka Tribune: “On the day of the incident, I heard screams and saw my grandfather being shot in the stomach. My father is innocent; still, RAB took him. I request the government to release my father soon.”
Family claims old man was shot dead by RAB
The family of the deceased, Abul Kashem, claimed that they were having a wedding ceremony at their house.
Around 2am, some plainclothes men came with weapons and tried to take Salim. At that time, people from the neighbour came forward after hearing the shouting of the family members.
The neighbours asked the men about their identity, but they refused. The locals suspected the men to be robbers and called the National Emergency Service, 999, for help.
Zahirul Islam, an eyewitness, said: “When Salim was arrested, Abul Kashem came forward and wanted to know the identities of the men. At one point, they pushed Abul Kashem and beat him. When the people shouted, claiming they were robbers, the plainclothes men fired and Abul Kashem was killed.”
As the Borogaon area is very secluded, people often fall victims to robbery. Therefore, the villagers thought the plainclothes men were robbers.
Meanwhile, the panic of an arrest has gripped the entire village after the filing of the case against the villagers by the RAB.
Why RAB conducted a raid in Borogaon area
The RAB conducted a raid in the Borogaon area when the body of garment worker Rozina Akhtar was found near Salim's house.
Sonargaon police station Inspector Ahsan Ullah said Rozina Akhter got divorced from her husband a few years ago. She took a job at the ACS Textile Mill in Rupganj, where Salim used to work as well.
“Through time, they built a relationship and planned to get married. However, Salim's marriage was fixed elsewhere and he was supposed to get married on Monday,” said the inspector.
When Rozina learned about the marriage, she pressured Salim to marry her. They had frequent altercations. Following the incident, Rozina came by Salim's house on Thursday night.
Salim killed Rozina that night with the help of his friend Saiful Islam.
After Rozina's body was recovered on Friday morning, a team of Sonargaon police station and RAB started investigating.
They found Rozina's national identity card on her body and a mobile phone number.
Analyzing the information found from that number, the police and RAB suspected Salim and Saiful Islam.
The police later arrested Saiful and raided Salim's house to arrest him.
