N’ganj murders: 2 ex-Rab men on 5-day remand

 A court here on Saturday placed two ex-Rab officials, arrested for their alleged involvement in the sensational Naryanganj seven murders, on a five-day remand each.

They are former Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad and ex-Major Arif Hossain.

Tareque who was the commanding officer of Rab-11 when the abductions and killings took place is the son-in-law of Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Chandni Rupam passed the order after police produced them before the court seeking a 10-day remand.

Later, they were taken to the Narayanganj police lines.

Earlier in the morning, two of the three ex-Rab officials were arrested from Dhaka Cantonment for their alleged involvement in the killing of seven people, including Narayanganj city panel mayor Nazrul Islam and senior lawyer Chandan Kumar Sarker.

However, former Lt Commander of Bangladesh Navy MM Rana still remains at large.

The three Rab officials were earlier sent on forced retirement following the allegations of their involvement in the abduction and killing of the seven people in Narayanganj.

Following the seven murders, Shahidul Islam alias Shahid chairman, father-in-law of slain city panel mayor Nazrul Islam, alleged that some Rab men killed Nazrul in exchange for Tk 6 crore from city councillor Nur Hossain and other suspects.

Earlier, the High Court, following a writ petition, issued a rule asking the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for taking immediate steps to arrest the trio dismissed Rab officials.

In compliance with another HC order, a seven-member probe body was formed by the Public Administration Ministry, headed by its additional secretary Md Shahjahan Ali Mollah, The committee is now investigating the incident holding public hearings.

The Narayanganj incident has caused a serious embarrassment to the ruling Awami League as Tareque Mohammad is the son-in-law of Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya.

Besides, some media reported that Maya’s son Dipu Chowdhury brokered the deal between suspected Rab members and the masterminds of the tragedy. An amount of Tk 6 crore was said to have been transacted to carry out the abduction and subsequent murders.

On April 27, Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam and his three associates and driver were abducted from Fatullah area in Narayanganj city. Hours into their abduction, senior lawyer of the Narayanganj District Judge’s Court, Chandan Kumar Sarker, and his driver were abducted while they were going to capital Dhaka.

Three days into their abduction, the bodies of six people, including that of Nazrul and Chandan, were recovered from the Shitalakhya and Dhaleshwari rivers on April 30.

Besides, the body of Jahangir, the car driver of Nazrul Islam, was recovered from the Shitalakhya River on May 1.

Source: UNB Connect