Rab claim shrouded in questions
Witnesses of Friday night’s shooting in Uttara that left five dead are saying they did not see the “criminals” shoot but Rab is sticking to its story that its team only returned fire when they were shot at.
Rab officials said they were forced to retaliate with gunshots when the criminals fired at them after being challenged by the law enforcers on Sonargaon Janapath in Uttara. Some witnesses said the suspects were shot from very short distances and the suspects did not get any chance to fire.
“When I was having a betel leaf at the roadside tea stall on Sonargaon Janapath, I saw some law enforcers in plainclothes talking to five youths behind the tea stall. The law enforcers asked the youths to call their associates,” said a local and a witness.
The witness said the youths made phone calls and then the witness hard gunshots which left two of the five youths on the ground while three others fled.
“In about five to seven minutes, a car reached the spot and Rab personnel started firing at the car from the back, front and the left side and three were killed,” said the witness on condition of anonymity.
A shop employee who lives nearby said, “I was returning home on foot. When I reached the spot, I saw a car passing the Rab personnel slowly.”
“The law enforcers started shooting at the car,” said Kamrul, adding, “I did not see any one firing from the car.”
Talking to The Daily Star, a number of people claiming themselves witnesses to the incident gave pretty much the same picture. A few hundred people witnessed the incident but most decided to remain silent.
Rab Legal and Media Wing Director M Sohail rejected the claims of these people saying, “Gunfight took place in two phases within a span of a few minutes and Rab personnel were forced to fire when the criminals fired at the law enforcers.”
Meanwhile, the five deceased were yesterday identified as Mohammad Hasan, 22, of Arichpur in Tongi, Mostofa Hossain, 22, of Miraspara in Arichpur, Suruj Miah, 21, of Ijjatpur, Sabuj of Tongi and Mohammad Maruf, 22, of Ranavola of Turag.
Rab officials said Hasan was accused in three cases and Mostofa in five cases.
Golam Mostofa’s father Mir Mosaddak Hossain claiming himself to be a freedom fighter told reporters that a Rab team in plainclothes picked up his son around 8:20pm from behind Mascot Plaza shopping arcade. He said his son was having tea there. He claimed that several eyewitnesses told him about Rab personnel picking up his son.
He said Mostofa had a cloth shop in Hazipara of Agrabad in Chittagong and he came home Friday morning.
Suruj’s cousin Saiful Islam said Suruj was a bus driver four years ago and he bought the car recently, which he was driving when he was shot. He is not accused in any cases, Saiful claimed.
Hasan’s elder brother Nabi Hossain, who went to the morgue yesterday, said his brother went out after Juma prayers Friday.
Hasan has been in prison twice, the brother said
Maruf’s mother Ranu Begum said her factory worker son went out Friday morning and she did not know anything else.
Nisarul Arif, deputy commissioner of Uttara division, said Rab filed three cases with Uttara Police Station and detained youths Saidul Islam, 22, and Mohammad Imran, 16, were placed on a three-day remand yesterday.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
