Who hired RAB: Shamim or Nur?

Nazrul was once picked up by RAB in 2011 when he was contesting city polls

I do not fear anyone except RAB. If anything happens to Nazrul, it will be done by RAB”

Tarek told Shaihidul if he ever mentioned RAB was involved, he would put him in crossfire

It is hard to find a person in Narayanganj who believes that RAB was not involved in the recent sensational abduction and murder of seven people in the port city.

Their belief has been reinforced by the recent removal of three defence officers from RAB 11, the unit of the elite force stationed the city.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), formed in 2004, is an elite strike force comprising both commissioned and non-commissioned members from the army, air force, navy and police.

However, there are conflicting views surrounding the identity of the plotter of the chilling crime, in which Narayanganj city panel mayor and ward councillor Nazrul Islam, senior lawyer Chandan Sarker and their associates were abducted in broad daylight from a busy road and later murdered.

Not only the commoners and the conscious citizens, but also the justice seekers and those close to the victims are divided on the matter of the identity of the mastermind.

One section believes that Nazrul’s political rival Nur Hossain, another Awami League leader and also a councillor of the same city corporation, plotted the abduction.

Another section believes that the mastermind was influential Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman, who used his close associate Nur Hossain and RAB 11 to serve his personal vendetta against Nazrul.

Shamim Osman is not only a local MP and an Awami League stalwart, but he has also been often branded as a godfather and linked to most big crimes in Narayanganj – a major commercial hub near capital Dhaka.

Although Shamim is not officially accused in any of the cases filed with the local police stations in connection with the seven murders, but prime suspect Nur Hossain was known as Shamim’s right-hand man.

Nazrul’s wife Selina Islam and father-in-law Shahidul Islam believe it was Nur Hossain’s plot.

“Everything will be unearthed once Nur Hussain is arrested,” Selina told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday at her Siddhirganj residence.

She said after some incidents on February 2, her husband had been getting some phone calls. “He [Nazrul] told me several times that a conspiracy was being hatched to kill him…He even told me that they might kill him using RAB or hiring professional killers,” she said.

Nazrul, however, never told her from whom he had got the information about the conspiracy.

Selina believes that the administration is “definitely” involved with the killing of her husband.

Removal of three RAB 11 officers was no consolation for Shahidul Islam, Nazrul’s father-in-law.

“I did not want their transfer from Narayanganj; neither did I want them removed from their services. The mystery behind the killing would have been unearthed if they were arrested and interrogated. That is what I want,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

The three withdrawn officers were RAB 11 commanding officer Lt Col Tarek Sayeed Mohammad and Major Arif Hossain from the army, and Lt Commander SM Rana from the navy. News came to public domain yesterday that they had been removed from their mother organisations – effective from the afternoon of Monday May 5.

During a conversation with the Dhaka Tribune, Shahidul was frequently getting angry. “These three RAB officers know everything [about the seven murders],” he said.

After learning about his son-in-law’s abduction, Shahidul rushed to Shamim Osman on April 27 to get help.

“Shamim Osman told me that RAB 11 picked him up. I went to the RAB 11 headquarters and grabbed the legs of commanding officer Tarek, begging for the life of my son-in-law. I even told him that I would give him twice the money that he had got from Nur Hossain for killing him,” he said.

“He [Tarek] pushed me away and my knees got hurt,” Shahidul said, adding: “Shamim Osman killed Nazrul.”

Shahidul said Tarek had threatened him as well. “He told me that if I ever mentioned that RAB was involved [with the abduction], he would put me in crossfire.”

Tarek is the son-in-law of Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya’s brother.

“Only a fair investigation can reveal the truth,” said Nazrul’s father-in-law, who sometimes broke into tears and sometimes got angry.

Interestingly, Shahidul’s brother Hasmat Ali Hashu is one of the accused in the cases filed in connection with the seven murders.

Shahidul said he had got some important information about the abduction and murder from Hashu’s friend Jasimuddin.

“I could not hide the information when I came to know that Nazrul’s murder was a Tk6 crore deal. The seven were taken to the RAB camp office in the old court building after abduction,” he said.

Lt Commander SM Rana was the chief of the camp, which is also called the Crime Prevention Company 1 of RAB 11. Major Arif used to attend office at this camp and at the RAB 11 office as well.

According to Shahidul, members of Nur Hossain’s gang went to the RAB camp on the night of April 27 by microbuses, killed the abductees and later dumped the bodies in Shitalakkhya River.

“I do not know how much of Tk6 crore was paid to each of the RAB officials. This deal could even be more than Tk6 crore,” he said.

Wing Commander ATM Habibur Rahman, director of the Legal and Media Wing of RAB, told the Dhaka Tribune that the committee formed to look into the allegations had already started verifying the bank accounts of the three ex-RAB officials, their family members and close relatives.

Nazrul’s younger brother Md Abdus Salam has no doubt that RAB acted as a mercenary group in the gruesome murder.

Nazrul was supposed to meet Salam over lunch at his Jatrabari house after attending the courtroom session on April 27. Nazrul went to the court on that day for appearing in a case filed by Nur Hossain after the February 2 skirmishes between the two.

Salam said after his brother got bail, he talked to him over phone. Nazrul told his brother that he had left the court and was heading for Jatrabari.

However, a little later Salam found Nazrul’s phone switched off. When he found the phones of all those who were with his brother switched off, Salam sensed something was wrong.

Immediately, Salam contacted several people including Shamim Osman and RAB CO Tarek. He said Tarek had asked him about whether Nazrul had any conflict with Shamim Osman.

“When I replied in the negative, the RAB CO told me to go to Shamim Osman,” said Salam.

Many of Nazrul’s family members also went through the same experience – when they went to RAB, they told them to talk to Shamim Osman; when they went to Shamim Osman, he told them to go to RAB.

Salam affirmed: “Nur Hossain planned to kill my brother; either Shamim Osman was aware of it or he was involved with the planning.”

Earlier in February, Nur Hossain threatened to kill Nazrul in 15 days, he said.

Nazrul was once picked up by RAB in 2011 when he was contesting as a ward councillor in the city corporation election. A team of RAB 10 picked up Nazrul from Naryanganj and took him to their office at Dhalpur in Jatrabari. Salam said he had followed them but later RAB denied bringing Nazrul at their office.

After strong persuasion from a number of influential ruling party leaders, RAB released Nazrul after one night, said Salam. “That one too was a plan to kill him.”

Salam claimed that his brother had told him two-three months ago that RAB officers Tarek, Arif and Rana – the three withdrawn officers – might kill him.

He claimed that Nur Hossain had tried to kill Nazrul with the help of RAB in the past but did not succeed. About two weeks before the abduction, Shamim Osman told him: “I do not fear anyone except RAB. If anything happens to Nazrul, it will be done only by RAB. I do not count anyone else.”

Salam, therefore, has strong conviction that either Shamim was closely involved with the planning or aware of the plot.

Then again, there are many people in Narayanganj who believe that Shamim Osman had many notorious pets such as Nur Hossain. Slain Nazrul was also known as his man.

None of them wanted to be quoted out of fear that they might have to face the music from the political clouts. They have been observing for many years that Shamim created people like Nur Hossain and gave them shelter; but never even blinked before throwing them away once their utilities were lost.

Nazrul was known as Shamim’s man; but after winning the 2011 election as ward councillor and panel mayor, he gradually got close to Narayanganj city Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy.

Shamim did not like that because Ivy was his political rival to whom he lost the city elections.

There are many families in Narayanganj who have been victims of abduction and murder in the past.

Seeking anonymity, a member of one such family who had to deal with RAB in the past, told the Dhaka Tribune that these three officials had been involved with similar crimes in the port city before. They grew in confidence because they had managed to cover up those incidents in the past.

But this time around, they failed to manage the consequences and things went out of their control, he said.

Salam alleged that neither the home ministry nor RAB did anything to save Nazrul, despite being informed officially at least 15-20 days before the abduction, that a plan had been on to kill him.

Even Shamim Osman did not do anything to save his life, said Nazrul’s family.

Source: Dhaka Tribune