Rab has proof of own role in N\\\'ganj killings

Rab investigations have found evidence of its own officers being involved in Nayarayanganj 7 murders, several sources inside the elite force say. It has found no proof that suggests involvement of anyone besides Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) personnel and fugitive Ward-4 Councillor Nur Hossain, the sources said. But they believe finding Nur Hossain, the prime accused, will clarify the matter further. They have hinted that influential figures might also be involved but refused to reveal names for investigations’ sake. The decomposing bodies of seven abducted men, including Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) panel mayor Nazrul Islam and the district sessions and judge’s court lawyer Advocate Chandan Kumar Sarkar, were recovered from Shitalakkha and Dhaleshwari rivers on April 30 and May 1 after their abduction in Fatulla in Narayanganj on April 27. All the seven were abducted from Narayanganj’s court premises reportedly by men in Rab uniform. Their autopsy reports suggest they were killed right after they were taken. All the victims have been strangled to death after being knocked unconscious with blows to the head, said the physicians who autopsied the bodies. They also ruled that their killers are ‘professional, trained and skilled’. NCC Councillor Nazrul Islam’s father-in-law Shahidul Islam, after the discovery of the bodies, pointed the finger at the members of Rab-11. He said it was the law enforcers that took large amount of money from Ward 4 councillor Nur Hossain to kill Nazrul along with his aides. Rab formed its own probe team on May 5 after it was accused of abducting and killing the seven. Meanwhile, Rab-11 Commander Lt Col Tarek Sayeed Mahmud, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander MA Rana were forced to retire on May 7. Sources say some contents in their call lists aroused the committee’s suspicion. Sources confirmed that they had evidence of law enforcers being involved in the gruesome murders but did not enlarge. “We have talked to several people including the personnel who drive Rab-11 vehicles,” Additional Director General Aftab Uddin Ahmed, heading Rab's probe committee, said. "We have also visited the crime site," he added, according to bdnews24.com.