RAB helped Nur Hossain escape to Kolkata: Shahidul

The father-in-law of slain Narayanganj City councillor Nazrul Islam on Monday claimed the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) helped Nur Hossain, the prime suspect of the seven-murder case, flee to India.

It is the second time Shahidul Islam, popularly known as Shahid Chairman, pointed the finger at RAB.

In an interview with a local newspaper, the elite force’s Additional Director General Col Ziaul Ahsan claimed Nur Hossain was in Kolkata.

Hossain went there three days after the Apr 27 incident, he said.

Col Ahsan said they were trying to bring back the prime suspect as he held the key to the yet unsolved murder mystery.

File Photo

The RAB officer said they were investigating whether the councillor’s father-in-law Shahidul Islam was involved with the crime.

However, Shahidul, speaking to journalists, shot back: “Ziaul Ahsan helped Nur Hossain to flee to Kolkata.”

When contacted, the RAB officer declined comments on a matter under investigation.

Shahidul’s son-in-law and six others were abducted on Apr 27.

The abductees were found floating, dead, on the Shitalakhyya River several days later.

Three RAB officers, including Narayanganj-based RAB-11 battalion commander Tarek Syeed Mohammad, were removed following the incident.

Shahidul on May 4 claimed RAB officers had taken Tk 60 million in bribes to perpetrate the crime.

Former Lt Col Mohammad, son-in-law of minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, and the other two were sent on forced retirement three days later.

When asked why Shahidul was making such a claim, he said it was clear that RAB officers were involved with the crime.

“Ziaul Ahsan has sent Nur Hossain abroad to save RAB,” he claimed.

Shahidul said the RAB officers were not yet arrested as RAB was trying to shield them.

The High Court on Sunday ordered the arrest of the three former RAB officers.

However, the force’s media wing director Habibur Rahman rejected the claims.

“Shahidul Islam is making such claims to divert the investigation,” he said to bdnews24.com.