Wife of one of the two crossfire victims in Jurain alleged that her husband had been killed in front of her eyes by members of the crime busting force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
“I know that my husband was a terrorist and criminal. He might have been involved in snatching. But there are laws against such offences. He could have been punished as per the laws of the land,” said Sonia, pregnant wife of Mahmudul Wasim, 62, of Madina Masjid Road in Alambagh area of Jurain.
“But the RAB staged a drama after they had killed him terming my husband an abductor,” she said. “She was tortured too just before he was killed.
Wasim was killed in a “gunfight” with RAB on Monday. Both RAB and the family members said Wasim was at his residence before the “gunfight”.
Members of the RAB said they carried out an operation upon information that some abductors were torturing some people on the rooftop of a house in Kadamtali area.
Sensing presence of the RAB personnel, the abductors opened fire on them and the elite force retaliated killing two abductors – Wasim and Sangram. Three RAB officials were also injured, said the elite crime buster.
When the Dhaka Tribune contacted Director of RAB’s media wing Habibur Rahman said there might be such allegations from the relatives “but we have nothing new to tell you”.
Sonia ditched the explanation saying that it was a common story the RAB tells the media after every killing.
She described the details of the day’s event to the Dhaka Tribune: “It was around 12 noon on Monday. My husband was taking shower on our seven-storey flat. Some 50 people in plain clothes surrounded the building with guns.”
Sensing danger, Sonia pushed her younger sister Aysha into the washroom where her husband was taking shower. The law men entered their flat; they searched for him in every nook and corner of the flat and finally they knocked at the washroom.
Aysha responded saying that she was taking shower. Then the officials waited for some time there and at one point broke into the washroom. They grabbed Aysha by the hair and dragged her out of the washroom along with Wasim.
Later they took Wasim to the staircase.
“My whole family and I including my mother and sister pleaded for mercy but the officers did not pay heed. They kicked on my abdomen while I was expecting.
“They closed the main door of the flat as it was ajar I could see everything.
They killed my husband in front of my eyes. They sprayed two to three rounds of bullets on him. I lost consciousness,” she added.
Sonia’s mother said after killing Wasim, the officials took him down by his legs and hands and sent him to hospital as if he was alive.
“The officials also left two female officials inside the flat who stayed until the evening and threatened us with dire consequence if we opened our mouths.”
Sonia also alleged that the law enforcers had not recovered any arms from the flat. “The officials kept two arms on my bed, took photos and circulated to different media. This is nothing but a drama of the RAB…they killed my husband in a pre-planned way.”
She alleged that her husband was killed as a sequel to a conflict with Alam Super Market owner Alam on extracting toll.
RAB 10 officials arrested Wasim earlier too, Sonia said. When he begged for life one of the officials said: “Alam gave us Tk3, 000,000 for killing him [Wasim]. If you want to survive you have to pay Tk6, 000, 000,” she said quoting Wasim.
On Payment of the amount, RAB released him two days after the arrest.
The other accused, Sangram Chowdhury, 42, who was the manager of Wasim, was staying on the rooftop of the building on the day.
Sensing the presence of law enforcers, he tried to escape by using a pipe but he was shot in the leg and fell down on a tin-shed house.
He again tried to flee the spot but the law enforcers shot him after taking him on the ground floor of the building, said the family members of Wasim who witnessed the incident.
Taslima Akter, a tenant of Wasim’s house, said she had heard two to three bullet shots but would not open the doors and windows out of fear. However, she saw some RAB officials at the building on Monday noon.
Mohammad Yasin, a tenant of an adjacent building, said he had been sleeping at that time but heard several gunshots.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
