RAB ‘framed, beat’ Germany-based Bangladeshi expat

The RAB is facing accusations of having picked up an innocent person, framing him on false charges and beating him up in custody.

The alleged incident took place on Thursday.

Shamim Sikder, 35, an expatriate residing in Germany, arrived home recently on holiday.

A RAB-8 bulletin issued on Thursday night said he was detained for possession of contraband Yaba pills and forged currency notes.

But Shamim's brother Khalilur Rahman maintains that the expatriate is innocent and the RAB has framed him.

On Thursday Shamim intervened when three men on a bike hit an autorickshaw in which advocate Parvez Rahman was travelling, his brother said.

That incident occurred around 2pm near the Shariatpur Civil Surgeon's Office.

When Shamim saw Parvez involved in an altercation with the trio, he intervened to protest against them.

The trio, who were in plainclothes, identified themselves as RAB personnel and warned Shameem with consequences.

On the same night, the RAB-8 in its bulletin said they had detained Shamim for possession of Yaba pills and fake currency notes from near Palong Police Station area.

Khalilur said when he visited the Madaripur office of the RAB, he found that the RAB had also beaten up his brother.

When reached for comment, RAB-8 Company Commander Major Suhel Rana offered contradictory statements before and after the issuing of the bulletin.

Before the bulletin was issued, he said although his superiors received information that Shamim had attacked RAB personnel physically earlier on that day, the Madaripur RAB unit had not detained him.

After the bulletin was issued, he said Shamim was detained from Palang Police Station area for carrying Yaba pills and forged notes.

Channel 24, however, has broadcast CCTV footage where a youth is seen being led away by a group of men from near Rajganj bridge.

Eyewitnesses, too, have said they saw a youth being taken away by a group of men from that area.

Advocate Parvez told bdnews24.com that he had filed a GD with Palang police on Thursday night when he heard that Shamim was missing.

He denied allegations of a scuffle at the accident site and said the matter had been solved there.

Palang Police Station OC Md Khalilur Rahman said the RAB handed Shamim over to them on Friday dawn.

He was slapped with charges of being in possession of Yaba pills and forged notes and attacking government officers.

He said Shamim lives in Spain since 2001 and comes home occasionally.