Arrests 'under process': Kamal

State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said the arrest of three discharged Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel, as ordered by the High Court, is 'under process'.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 12 May 2014, 12:24 PM
Updated : 3 Sept 2015, 01:11 PM

Speaking to reporters at the police headquarters on Monday, Kamal refused to elaborate any further details on the matter.

The officers are former RAB-11 commanding officer Lt Col Tarek Sayeed Mohammad, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander MM Rana.

Former Lt Col Mohammad is the son-in-law of Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya.

Seven men, including Narayanganj City councillor Nazrul Islam and lawyer Chandan Kumar Sarkar, were abducted on Apr 27.

They were found floating in Shitalakhyya River, dead, on Apr 30.

The RAB officers were sent back to their parent forces.

They were forced to retire three days after Nazrul’s father-in-law claimed RAB had taken bribes from prime suspect local Awami League leader Nur Hossain.

On Sunday, the High Court ordered the arrest of the three officers.

Asked if the investigation officer has been asked to arrest the trio, Kamal said the process was “on-going”.

Journalists asked whether this meant that the three would be arrested at any moment, the state minister smiled, saying, “A procedure has to be followed when arresting anyone. The process is going on as per the court’s order.”

Narayanganj police’s Detective Branch OC Mamunur Rashid is investigating the case.

He echoed the state minister when asked about the probe progress. “Certain steps have to be followed. We’ll take actions after completing them.”

Earlier in the day, Assistant Inspector General of Police (Media) Jalal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury confirmed to bdnews24.com that they had received the copy of the order.

He said they were working on the legal process to comply with the court directive.

Police have detained 21 persons so far over the murders.

However, the victims’ families have expressed discontent as the accused and the RAB officers are yet to be arrested.

The court ordered the RAB officers’ arrest when relatives of victim Chandan Sarkar moved the High Court seeking the formation of a judicial probe commission to investigate the crime.

The Inspector General of Police was ordered to take immediate measures in this regard.
The court said the three should be arrested under Section 54 even if no charges were found sticking against them under the Code of Criminal Procedure or other Acts.

It also directed to question the three once they were arrested.

In a suo moto ruling on May 5, the court ordered to form a committee to probe the alleged involvement of the RAB officers in the murders.

A committee, led by public administration ministry’s Additional Secretary Shahjahan Ali Molla, is investigating the incident in keeping with the court order.