How will RAB evade liability for the death in Sonargaon raid

In a raid to arrest an accused of a murder case, members of the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) involved in another murder in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon. This isn’t just a worrying incident; there’s enough reason to consider it a major threat to public security as well. A force employed to enforce the law cannot commit murders in the name of arresting perpetrators.

According to RAB’s narrative as quoted in Prothom Alo report, villagers obstructed them while they went to arrest a suspect in Bargaon area under ​​Sadipur union of Sonargaon at 1:30am on Sunday. RAB claims that when they tried to detain the suspect, villagers obstructed them and attacked the RAB officials with local weapons. This caused incidents of attack and counter attack from both parties. A local elder named Abul Kashem was shot dead in the turmoil.  

Even if RAB’s narrative that the villagers attacked them with local weapons and they responded to that by firing shots is true, this raid has raised a number of questions.

Why did RAB go on a raid there in civil attire, hiding their identity? Why did they need to go on a raid at 1:30 in the morning? If the RAB personnel believed there’s a chance of the perpetrator escaping in case of going on the raid during daytime, they could have raided donning the uniform with required number of officials.

If the RAB members had shown their identity cards to the villagers, when they asked to show them it wouldn’t have gone so far. The death could’ve been avoided as well. Why did the RAB members hesitate to show their identity cards? Since villagers called the national emergency services on 999, it’s normal to think that they did try to remain respectful towards the law.

The Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik was appropriate to say that law and order enforcing agencies must reveal their identities and state the reasons for making an arrest if they go on an operation in civil attire. Those who conducted the raid at Narayanganj’s Sonargaon after midnight didn’t bother about these. The narrative that people who are day labourers by profession would be vicious in nature is so hard to believe.

RAB-11 commander Tanvir Mahmud told Prothom Alo that four RAB personnel were injured in the attack of ‘miscreants’ during an operation to arrest a murder suspect. Senior warrant officer of RAB-11 then filed a case against 21 people including Nazrul Islam and Zahirul Islam, the sons of deceased Abul Kashem. Nazrul Islam who was detained during the incident has been shown arrested later. In total, six people have been arrested in the case filed by RAB. Since Nazrul Islam was detained, he couldn’t even attend his father’s funeral.

Filing a case of this sort against the villagers just to cover up their own wrongdoings and unprofessional activities isn’t only reprehensible but also inhumane.

Besides, it doesn’t seem like the claim that Abul Kashem died in a shot fired by the perpetrators, made by the RAB would be credible to the public. It is the duty of law enforcement to provide the public with security. The incident RAB members have done in Naraynganj doesn’t show any sign of professionalism in any way.

If the entire force doesn’t want to take the blame for such unprofessional behaviours from only a few members, then RAB themselves should take legal steps against concerned people after proper investigation. Let there be a fair and impartial investigation into RAB’s operation in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon and Abul Kashem being killed there.