Rab
Teen gangs must be stopped: PM
Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (March 19, 2023) asked law enforcement agencies to take action against cybercrime and the trend of teen gangs.
“We’ll have to monitor cybercrimes and take action accordingly. RAB and intelligence agencies will have to play a decisive role in this regard,” she said.
The prime minister was speaking at the 19th founding anniversary of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at the force’s headquarters in Dhaka’s Kurmitola.
Saying that her government developed the country as “Digital Bangladesh”, the PM said cybercrimes have increased as the scope of digitization expanded.
Also Read: PM meets UK’s cross-party delegation, discusses Rohingya
Sheikh Hasina said the aim of Digital Bangladesh is to ensure the wellbeing of the people, not to cause distress.
She said there are some anti-state forces. They see “nothing, no matter how much advancement Bangladesh achieves.” There is another section of people who “defame Bangladesh to foreigners and secure financial or other benefits through this,” the PM said.
Talking about the US sanction imposed on RAB officials, the premier asked RAB personnel not to be upset at what others said about them but rather move ahead resolutely.
“This is our country that was freed through the sacrifice of blood… We know who does what and we’ll assess accordingly. We have to work with confidence,” she said.
Read More: Man killed in RAB gunfire for 'protesting neighbour's arrest,' family says
“We will have to identify those who carry out propaganda and defame Bangladesh. We will have to find out why they are doing it and their purpose,” she added.
The PM said Bangladeshis can judge who has done good or bad. “If anyone commits an offense, we must speak about it. Don’t be upset at what some people are saying. You will have to move ahead with a sense of self-esteem and confidence,” she said.
About the rising trend of teen gangs, Sheikh Hasina said parents, teachers and public representatives alongside law enforcers must take responsibility to put an end to the culture of teen gangs. “The teen gangs must be stopped,” she said.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and RAB Director General Additional IGP M Khurshid Hossain also spoke at the programme.
Read More: 8 arrested while trying to rob a RAB vehicle in Narayanganj: RAB
8 arrested while trying to rob a RAB vehicle in Narayanganj: RAB
Eight members of a robbery gang have been arrested while trying to take over a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) vehicle in Narayanganj.
RAB 11 Company Commander and Deputy Director Monirul Alam confirmed the information at a press conference at its local camp in Kalirbazar area of the city this afternoon.
“Two teams of RAB 11 were on patrol duty on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in plain clothes last night. At that time, one team got stuck in traffic in the Char Bausia area under Gazaria Police Station in Munshiganj,” he said.
Also Read: Tk 11 crore robbery: Mastermind among 3 held with Tk 58 lakh
“A group of armed robbers, thinking the Rab vehicle to be a normal passenger car, surrounded it. At one stage, the robbers attacked the car, in return, RAB men in plain clothes chased and arrested eight people, including the leader of the gang,” said the RAB deputy director.
“Several locally-made weapons were seized from the robbers at the time. Legal action, including a case, is under way against them,” he added.
During primary interrogation, the arrestees confessed to committing more than 50 robberies on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in the last two years. There are also multiple cases against them at different police stations, said RAB.
Training commander of Jamatul Ansar, 8 other militants arrested in Bandarban: RAB
Nine members, including a training commander, of militant group Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya have been arrested in a drive conducted by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at Tongkaboti in sadar upazila of Bandarban.
Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of Rab’s legal and media wing, revealed the information while briefing the media on Monday (March 13, 2023).
Members of RAB 1, 11, and 15 conducted a joined drive and arrested them along with arms and explosives, he said.
Also Read: 3 more members of new militant group Jamatul Ansar held in N'ganj
The arrestees are training commander Didar Hossain alias Masum, Alamin Sardar, Sainun Raihan, Tahiyat Chowdhury alias Pavel, Md. Lokman Mia, Md. Imran Hossain, Md. Amir Hossain, Md. Ariful Rahman, and Shamim Mia.
With the new arrests, 68 members of the new militant outfit have been arrested so far, Al Moin said.
“Thirty-eight people were arrested from the Chattogram Hill Tracts, and two of them died,” he said.
Read More: Clash over Ahmadiyya event: Over 8,200 sued, 81 arrested in Panchagarh
Seventeen members of armed separatist group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) have been arrested so far, he added.
The elite force also seized arms and explosives from the arrestees.
These arrests are not related to the attack on members of the army last Sunday, the RAB official said.
Read More: Three arrested with 400 bottles of phensedyl in Chapainawabganj: RAB
Clash over Ahmadiyya event: Over 8,200 sued, 81 arrested in Panchagarh
Six cases have been filed and 81 people arrested in connection with the clashes between police and Muslim devotees over ‘Salana Jalsa’ event of the Ahmadiyya community on Friday (March 03, 2023).
Among those, police filed four cases with Panchagarh Sadar Police Station, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) filed two cases and Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat another case.
A total of 31 named people and 8,200 unnamed ones were made accused in the cases on various charges including spreading rumours, attacks, vandalism, looting and obstructing government work, according to police.
Fazle Rabbi, 28, of the Rajnagar area and Rabbi Emon, (26) of the Satmera area of Tentulia upazila were arrested for spreading rumours on Facebook.
Also Read: ‘Rumours against Ahmadiyya’: BNP leader among 19 held
Ismail Hossain Jhanu, 25, of the Rajangarh area of Panchagarh municipality and Rasel Hossain, 28, of the Tular Danga area of the municipality were arrested in connection with the murder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat engineer Zahid Hasan.
Besides, 77 people were shown arrested in the cases filed by the police and Rab on several charges and they were sent to jail through a court.
According to police and case statements, sub-inspectors Masud Rana, Saidur Rahman, Shamsuzzoha Sarker, Altaf Hossain, and DAD Abdus Samad on behalf of Rab-13 filed the cases at Panchagarh Sadar Police Station on March 4 night.
Osman Ali, father of engineer Zahid Hasan, filed a case on behalf of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in connection with the murder. No one was named in the case, but 400 unnamed people were made accused.
Also Read: ‘Hate campaign’ being run against Ahmadiyyas on Twitter, says member of community
Police said two people who were allegedly directly involved in Zahid’s murder have been arrested. They gave confessional statements in connection with the murder.
Panchagarh Superintendent of Police SM Sirajul Huda said the situation is under control now.
Members of the police, Border Guard Bangladesh and RAB have been deployed at different points, he said.
“We are investigating the incident and arresting those involved. No matter who the attackers are, they will not be spared. Raids are on to arrest the other accused,” said the SP.
Read More: Clash over Ahmadiyya event: Law enforcers on high alert to avoid further trouble in Panchagarh
Earlier, on Friday, two people were killed and at least 50 others including policemen were injured in the clash between a section of Muslim devotees and police during a protest march of the devotees demanding the closure of an Ahmadiyya community’s event in Panchagarh district town.
Later on Saturday, a vested interest group spread rumours in different parts of the district town and on social media saying that some Ahmidyya community members slaughtered two Muslims.
Following the rumours, some young people equipped with sticks and sharp weapons blocked roads, carried out arson attacks, and looted shops and houses of the Ahmadiyya community.
Read More: 20 hurt in clash between two BCL factions while paying homage at CU
Three arrested with 400 bottles of phensedyl in Chapainawabganj: RAB
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three suspected drug peddlers with 400 bottles of phensedyl from Gopalnagar Mor area under Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj on Saturday night.
The arrestees were identified as Joni Molla, 32, Shakil Ahmed, 24, and Salam Reza, 25 -- all residents of Bogura Sadar upazila.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-5) conducted a drive at the Gopalnagar Mor area and arrested the three with 400 bottles of phensedyl from a mini-truck, said a press release from RAB.
RAB-5 Chapainawabganj Camp Company Commander Lt Ruh-fi-Tahmin Taukir led the drive.
A case was filed against the arrestees with Shibganj Police Station.
RAB detain ‘five militants’ after gunfight in Bandarban
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Tuesday detained five suspected militants after a brief gunfight at Thanchi upazila of Bandarban district.
RAB’a Director General M Khurshid Hossain said RAB members were engaged in a gunfight with new militant group 'Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya’ and Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), an armed group in the Chattogram Hill Tract (CHT), at Silopi Bampara in Ruma upazila in the morning.
Tipped off, a team of RAB conducted a drive at Thanchi-Loicri bordering area early in the morning. But sensing the presence of the elite force, the members of the Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya and the KNF opened fire on them, forcing the security officials to retaliate.
Eight members of the RAB sustained injuries during the gunfight, he said. They are now undergoing treatment.
Also read: CTTC arrests 5 ‘HuJI militants', 1 ‘Al Qaeda member’ in Dhaka
However, the elite force also detained five suspected militants of the groups during the drive, he added.
So far, RAB have detained 42 members of the Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya and 14 members of the KNF since October 23. They were later sent to jail, pending further legal procedures.
20 ‘teen gang members’ held in Dhaka, RAB says
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested 20 members of a “teen gang” along with sharp weapons from different areas of Dhaka on Monday.
Tipped off, a team of RAB-2 conducted drives in the capital’s Mohammadpur, Adabar, Hazaribagh, Bosila and Kawran Bazar areas on Monday night and arrested them along with sharp weapons, said Senior ASP Md Fazlul Haque, senior assistant director (Media) of RAB-2.
Read: Anti-Terrorism Unit arrests convicted ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir activist’ in Dhaka
After primary interrogation, RAB came to know that they were involved in criminal activities including selling drugs, mugging, extortion and stealing.
The process is underway to take legal action against them, said the RAB official.
War crimes: Death-row convict Majid arrested in Madaripur
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have arrested a war criminal and death-row convict Abdul Majid from Madaripur around four years after he was awarded capital punishment in 2019.
The 80-year-old Majid is the son of Miraj Ali of Purba Moudam village under Purbadhala police station in Netrokona, said a press release signed by Farzana Hoque, senior assistant superintendent of police (media) of Rab, on Thursday.
The fugitive convict went into hiding in 2015 when a case involving the 1971 war crimes was filed against four people including him with the International Crimes Tribunal in 2014.
He faced charges of killing, mass killing, abduction, torture, torching, rape and looting in the case.
Majid, who was the head of Razakar Bahini in Purbadhala. As a membe of the auxiliary force of the occupied Pakistani military, in collaboration with his cohort, he killed freedom fighter Abdul Khaleq and his associates at the house of Khaleq at Badha village under the Purbadhala police station on August 17, 1971.
Later, their bodies were dumped into several rivers.
Though initially four people were indicted in the case later three more people were also accused in the case.
Read more: 6 sentenced to death for war crimes in Mymensingh
The International Crimes Tribunal handed down the death sentence to all the seven accused after completing all legal procedures in 2019.
With the 36th judgment in the case, two convicts died when the case was behind bars, two died as fugitives after the judgment was passed and the other two are still at large.
Drug peddling: Fugitive convict arrested from Gazipur after seven years, says Rab
Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) said they arrested a "convicted drug peddler," who had been on the run for seven years, from Gazipur's Kashimpur early Friday.
The arrestee was identified as Abdul Ahad alias Limon alias VP Limon, 34. He was sentenced to life in prison in a case under the Narcotics Control Act.
Read more: Photojournalist Aftab murder case: Fugitive convict held in Dinajpur
Tipped off, a team of Rab-2 conducted a drive in Kashimpur around 3:55am and arrested Limon, Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Md Fazlul Haque, senior additional director (media) of Rab-2, said.
On September 24 in 2014, Limon was arrested with "a large haul of drugs" and a case was filed against him at Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station.
Read more: Fugitive death row convict held in N’ganj
"He was later released on bail after spending two years behind the bars. After that, he continued selling illegal drugs, faking his identity," Fazlul said.
"Efforts are on to catch Limon's associates. He was handed over to Palashbari Police Station in Gaibandha," he added.
‘Robber met JMB members in jail and became leader of new militant group’
Arrested council (Shura) member and head of the armed wing of a new militant group, Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, met JMB militants while in jail on robbery charges and became a top leader of the new group after he was released.
Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of Rab’s legal and media wing, revealed the information while briefing the media today over the arrest of two members of the new militant group yesterday from a Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar.
He said Rab interrogated Masukur Rahman alias Ronobir alias Masud and Bashar after arresting them yesterday and got some important tip-offs.
Ronobir’s associate, Bashar, is a bomb-making expert.
Ronobir used to work at a post office. He also led an armed robbery gang and got arrested.
“During his time in prison, he met the leaders and activists of JMB and decided to join forces with them,” said the Rab officer.
Also Read: 2 ‘militants’ arrested from Kutupalong Rohingya camp after 'gunfight’, Rab says
He continued to visit JMB members in jail after his release. He had contact with their families too, he added.
In 2017, he met Rakib, a Shura member and later head of Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya’s finance and media wing, and became a founding member.
Members of Rab yesterday (January 23, 2023) arrested Ronobir and Bashar after a gunfight at Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Ukhia upazila of Cox's Bazar.
Rab arrested the duo along with arms and explosives from a den in the camp following the gunfight.