Little headway in trial, 'red notice' issued after nearly 5 years

Inspector Mamun Imran Khan of Special Branch (SB) of police was killed four years and eight months ago but there is very little headway in the trial of the murder.

Deposition of only one witness was taken so far. After so many days police have issued ‘red notice’ by Interpol against Rabiul Islam alias Arav Khan, one of the accused absconding since filing of a case.

The name of Arav Khan, who has now become a jeweler in Dubai, came to the headline only after he opened a jewelry shop in Dubai last week that was attended by sport and film celebrities.

Inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun told journalists after inaugurating a police outpost in Chattogram on Monday afternoon that the Interpol has issued a red notice against Arav Khan.

“I’ve just got the news that Interpol has issued it (red notice). They will do the rest,” the IGP said.

Police officer Mamun was killed in Dhaka on 8 July 2018. His half-charred body was recovered from a jungle in Gazipur the following day.

Mamun’s elder brother Jahangir Alam Khan filed a murder case with Banani police station. Upon investigation, Detective Brach of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on 31 March 2019 submitted a charge sheet against 10 people including absconding Rabiul.

According to the case statements, the accused persons called a producer of a television to a house in Banani to entrap. That Banani house was Rabiul’s office. Police officer Mamun was close to the producer and went to the spot at the producer’s call. Later Mamun was killed. The body was taken to Gazipur jungle in a sack. The body was burnt there so as to conceal his identity.

Of the 10 accused in the murder case, two are teenage girls. Rabiul and his wife Suraiya Akter would allegedly entrap wealth people and cheat money from them. Rabiul directly abetted in hiding the body of the slain police officer and the persons directly involved with the murder were his associates.

Rabiul’s wife Suraiya is absconding after securing bail in the case. Of the other accused, Rahmat Ullah, 35, Swapan Sarker, 39, Didar Pathan, 21, Mizan Sheikh, 21, Atik Hasan, 21 and Sarowar Hossain, 23, are incarcerated.

The court framed charges in the case on 25 November 2021. The prosecution produced one witness to the court on 28 July 2022. The High Court on 20 December last year asked the authorities to dispose of the case within six months. The case is now under trial in Dhaka’s first additional sessions judge court.

Asked about the progress of the case, additional public prosecutor Abdul Sattar Dulal told Prothom Alo that an effort to present the witnesses to the court is going on.

DB said Rabiul first went to India after the murder of Mamun. He took Indian passport in the name Arav Khan and moved to Dubai. There is a rumour that he is well connected with a former top police official in Bangladesh.

Later in a Facebook post, former IGP Benazir Ahmed explained that he does not know Rabiul and  did not have any primary acquaintance with him. 

Replying to a question on Monday, IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamu said the reported link between the controversial gold businessman in Dubai and any former senior police official is being probed. He said the authorities will expose the matter when the time is right.