The Armed Forces Division (AFD) has given police the green light to arrest disgraced RAB officers suspected of killing seven people in Narayanganj.
In a letter sent to Police Headquarters, the AFD said there was no legal barrier to action being taken against three former army and navy officers in line with the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Officials at both police HQ and Narayanganj police late Thursday night confirmed bdnews24.com of receiving the letter with the all-clear.
The AFD responded after the Narayanganj police had asked for its assistance in arresting the former officers.
The development comes four days after the High Court in an order asked the inspector general of police to arrest the three former Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officials.
Since the court order, given on May 11, their arrest order was not issued, though there were no legal barriers because of apparent procedural complications between police and the army.
The three former officers are alleged to have abducted and subsequently murdered seven people including Ward-2 Councillor Nazrul Islam last month.
RAB removed the trio from their posts in the port city unit two days after the seven were kidnapped on Apr 27.
The army’s former Lt Col Tarek Sayeed Mohammad, who was the Commanding Officer of Narayanganj’s RAB-11 and former Maj Arif Hossain, and the navy’s former Lt Commander MM Rana.
Mohammad is the son-in-law of Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya.
They were sent back to their parent forces – two to army and the third to navy.
The trio was retired after dead bodies of the seven were found floating on the Shitalakhyya River several days later.
The action also followed Nazrul’s father-in-law Shahidul Islam’s charges that some RAB officials were bribed to carry out the murders.
Source: Bd news24