Rab to act as ‘striking force’ during national election

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) Director General AKM Shahidur Rahman today said the elite force will act as a striking force to maintain law and order during the upcoming national election.

At a press conference held at the Rab Media Centre in Dhaka's Karwan Bazar around 2:00pm, he said Rab is working in coordination with other law enforcement agencies to ensure a free and fair poll.

"Police and Ansar members will be stationed at polling centres, while the Army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will be on mobile duty. Alongside them, Rab will perform its duty as a striking force," he said.

Regarding manpower, he added, "More personnel will be deployed this time than in any previous election."

During the briefing, the Rab DG updated the media on several high-profile cases.

He said Rab arrested three accused last night in the case filed over the burning and murder of businessman Khokon Chandra Das in Shariatpur's Damudya upazila. The process of handing them over to the district police is underway, he added.

He said Rab has so far arrested seven people and handed them over to police in connection with the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das on December 18 in Mymensingh.

Additionally, one person was arrested in connection with the double murder on the Khulna court premises on December 17. Operations are ongoing to capture the remaining suspects.

Presenting the statistics of Rab's operations over the last three months, the director general said a total of 4,366 accused individuals were arrested during this period.

Of them, 522 were arrested in murder cases, 1,210 in narcotics cases, 151 in robbery cases, 70 in mugging incidents, and 41 for involvement in human trafficking.

During the same timeframe, Rab recovered 188 local and foreign firearms and arrested 79 people in arms cases.

Regarding anti-sabotage drives, the Rab chief mentioned that one person was arrested with 14 crude bombs in Jashore's Bagherpara on December 29.

Furthermore, following an explosion at a madrasa in Keraniganj on December 26, Rab recovered five crude bombs and a large quantity of chemicals from the scene. One person was arrested in this connection, and efforts are on to arrest the main accused, he added.

During the briefing, the Rab director general also shed light on the progress of the investigation into the murder of Sharif Osman Hadi. "Rab has so far arrested eight suspects in connection with the incident. Two pistols, magazines, and bullets used in the killing were also recovered," he said. However, the two main accused in the case, Faisal and Alamgir are still absconding. Assuring that efforts are underway to nab them, Shahidur said, "We will continue to work with our maximum strength until they are arrested."