Family says RAB picked up Kushtia Swechchhasebak League leader

Families of two Awami League (AL) front leaders, one of whom is a prime murder suspect, claim that members of a law-enforcement agency have taken them away amid a wave of ‘extrajudicial’ killings. The families of Awami Swechchhasebak League’s Kushtia unit General Secretary Sheikh Sajjad Hossain Sabuj on Friday alleged that RAB personnel picked up him and Kushtia Swechchhasebak League unit chief Aktaruzzaman Labu from Dream Square Resort in Mawna of Gazipur early in the morning. Speaking at a press conference at Kushtia Press Club in the morning, Sabuj’s mother, Shaheda Begum, claimed that plainclothes men, who introduced themselves as RAB picked up her son along with Swechchasebak League president Akhtaruzzaman Labu around 4:45am. She claimed that RAB also took away the resort’s owner Moniruzzaman. Contacting RAB, the family members did not get any information about the arrestes, she added. Sabuj’s father Sheikh Kaizar Hossain, wife Jannatul Ferdous Jinia, son Shahed Hossain, daughter Sumaiya Ferdous and other family members were present at the media call. Shahida Begum also accused RAB of not cooperating with them. She said the resort’s manager Shimul Ahmed informed them that RAB personnel had taken away the three men. However, RAB-12 Kushtia Camp Commander Mosaddek Ibn Mujib declined comment. But RAB spokesperson Mufti Mahmud Khan said, “We didn’t arrest them. But we will investigate if anyone files complaint that they have been taken away.” A Kushtia detective police official said he had heard about the matter. “But I’m not sure about its authenticity. Sabuj is accused of being involved in the killing of a local Juba League activist during the AL infighting at a National Mourning Day programme in Kushtia on August 15. The Awami League’s Kushtia unit also would not comment on the matter. Earlier, another accused in the Kushtia Jubo League activist killing case, Jakir Hossain, 30, was shot dead in an alleged gun battle with police on Tuesday, according to bdnews24.com.
- biplab