Kushtia – A BNP leader of Dhaka city unit who was picked up allegedly by Rab men in Jhenidah district on Saturday evening was found dead in Kumarkhali upazila here early Sunday.Police recovered the handcuffed body of Rafiqul Islam, 48, general secretary of BNP’s Dhaka City Corporation Ward No-56 unit and a resident of Shanir Akhra in the capital, from Adabaria at about 12 am.
Additional Police Super Joynul Abedin said, being informed by locals, they recovered the body in the early hours. Police suspected that the BNP leader was strangulated to death.
Family sources said a group of 7/8 armed men posing as members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) picked up Rafiqul, also a businessman, from his in-laws’ house at Anandanagar village in Shailakupa upazila of Jhenidah on Saturday evening.
Victim’s mother-in-law Lipi Begum said Rafiqul came to their house by his private car on Friday afternoon. A group of 7/8 people in Rab uniforms stormed into their house at about 7 pm on Saturday when the BNP leader was preparing to leave for Dhaka.
She said when the house inmates asked about the reason of their arrival, they took the family members hostage at gunpoint and started ransacking valuables of the house
“Later, the Rab men handcuffed my son-in-law and picked him up by a microbus,” Lipi said, adding that he remained missing since then.
Members of Rafiqul’s in-laws’ house identified the body on Sunday morning after police recovered the body.
Meanwhile, Rab denied conducting any drive at Anandanagar village on Saturday evening.
Commander of Jhenidah Rab Camp Squadron leader Hamidul Haque said they did not arrest anyone named Rafiqul. “He might have been killed following a previous enmity.”
The Rab officer also said they were trying to find those who were behind the incident.
(Source: United News of Bangladesh)
