Families of two men, killed in an ‘encounter’ in Dhaka’s Kadamtoli on Monday, say there was no such gunfight, refuting the Rapid Action Battalion’s (RAB) claim of an exchange of fire.
Sonia Begum, wife of Md Wasim, one of the deceased, said her husband was dragged away from the bathroom of their house and later shot dead.
“What gunfight? RAB grabbed and killed both of them,” said Salma Chowdhury, wife of another deceased, Sangram Chowdhury.
Their reactions on the alleged encounter which took place in broad daylight came on Tuesday when bdnews24.com approached them.
The RAB, however, maintained their ‘gunfight’ account of the incident.
“The families can say what they want, we exchanged fire with them,” RAB-10 Commander Lt Col Khandaker Golam Sarowar told bdnews24.com while responding to the claims of the wives of the deceased.
According to elite force’s version of the incident, they raided Wasim’s house at Kadamtoli’s Alambagh following a tip-off that several abducted people were being held there.
Sensing RAB personnel cordoning off the house, the ‘kidnappers’ had tried to escape by climbing down the building’s rainwater pipes.
Wasim was struck down while he was running down the stairs. Accosted by the RAB, he had started shooting at them. He was shot when the RAB fired back. Sangram was shot while climbing down a pipe with Wasim’s other accomplices.
Rejecting the RAB’s claim, Sonia said her husband was shot dead after being held captive.
Wasim had hidden in the bathroom after RAB entered the building, she said. “My sister Ayesha was in the bathroom too. I thought RAB would leave after hearing a female voice from inside.”
“They (RAB) waited for a moment after hearing my sister’s voice, but ultimately broke down the bathroom door. They got my sister out first and then my husband.”
Wasim lived with his family on the top floor of the sixth-storey building. Apart from, Sonia and her sister, Wasim’s mother-in-law Shirin Aktar and his three children were in the house at the time.
Shirin told bdnews24.com she heard shots being fired from the building’s east side around noon on Monday. She saw from the window the RAB personnel had cordoned off the building. They were also on the roof of the adjoining building.
She said Wasim was sleeping at that time. They woke him up and told him to hide inside the bathroom.
“At least 12 people entered the house when we opened the front door. None of them were wearing RAB uniform. We told them that Wasim had not come home for a long time when they started looking for him.”
But they did not believe the family members, asking who were inside the bathroom. Then the RAB personnel broke the bathroom’s door and took Wasim outside the flat, Shirin claimed.
“They (RAB) locked the front door from outside and then we heard at least five rounds of shots.”
RAB’s Lt Col Sarowar claimed they recovered two guns and nine rounds of bullets from Wasim’s house during the raid.
Asked whether her husband had any firearms, Sonia became exasperated. “(Wasim) was dragged away from the bathroom, where will the gun come from? This was staged.”
Elder brother of the other deceased, Sangram Chowdhury, Prince Mahmud told bdnews24.com: “Sangram was on the fifth floor of that building at the time. He was shot in the leg while climbing down the pipe.”
Sangram fell on the roof of a tin-shed house right beside that building, he said. Later, RAB grabbed him when he was being taken to hospital on a rickshaw. “Then he was shot in front of Wasim’s building.”
Regarding the depiction of events of the families, RAB official Sarowar said, “No one was grabbed from any bathroom.
“Gunfight with Wasim took place on the stairs and Sangram opened fire on RAB personnel while climbing down the rainwater pipes in an attempt to flee. He was injured when RAB returned fire.”
Bullet-ridden Wasim and Sangram were rushed to Sir Salimullah Medical College and Hospital, better known as Mitford Hospital, but doctor declared them dead upon arrival.
Asked why RAB would want to kill Wasim, Sonia said, “Eight months ago RAB took away my husband. Then they released him for Tk 6 million.”
RAB-10 Commander Sarowar denied any such incident.
According to RAB, Wasim used to racketeer from CNG auto-rickshaws in that area and Sangram was his associate. They also kidnapped for ransom, RAB claimed.
The force also claims four people, identified as ‘Aktar’, 48, ‘Jahangir’, 26, ‘Rana’, 26 and ‘Jony’, 27, were found locked up from the roof of the house following the ‘gunfight’.
Sonia, however, the four men were employees of Wasim, a businessman.
“Akhter was at the fifth floor office during the incident. Jony was outside. Rana and Jahangir came often to our home,” she said.
Wasim had obtained the contract for toll collection on the Postagola bridge last year, she said, when asked about her husband’s occupation. This year, Wasim’s eldest son Ali Hossain had gotten the contract, she further said.
Sonia was Wasim’s second wife. The children from his first marriage stay next door in a five-storey building.
Wasim used to own some auto-rickshaws, Sonia said. Sangram was a friend of her husband’s, she added.
Source: Bd news24