Incensed by the police not showing disgraced RAB officers arrested in the multiple-murder case, lawyers at Narayanganj have called for Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya’s resignation from the cabinet.
The demand came from a rally on Monday at the Narayanganj court premises.
They alleged that the investigation was being meddled in as the former chief of RAB-11 Tarek Sayed Mohammad happened to be the son-in-law of Maya.The disaster and relief management minister, who has skipped the last three cabinet meetings, including the one on Monday, have been claiming that none of his family members were involved in the murders.
Maya left for Thailand on Monday on an official visit.
The police are now questioning the three ex-RAB officers, who have been forced to retire from their parent forces after arresting them under Section 54 of the CrPC, which accounts for suspicious behaviour.
The ex-military officers have not been booked under the case filed over the murders of Narayanganj City councilor and panel mayor Nazrul Islam, senior lawyer Chandan Kumar Sarkar and five others.
The lawyers have been long demanding arrest of former army officers Tarek Sayeed and Arif Hossain and former navy officer MM Rana over the murders.
A demand to grill them by high-level probe committee was raised from Monday’s rally.
“They have been kept in a cosy environment during the remand as the former RAB officer Tarek Sayeed is a relative of the minister. They are not being questioned over the killings,” Narayanganj District Bar Association’s President Sakhawat Hossain told the rally.
He added the officers were given medical assistance without court order.
Several lawyers, while speaking at the rally, including Hossain, demanded resignation of the minister, though none of them mentioned Maya’s name.
Earlier in the day, lawyers went on a one-hour strike as part of their programme to register their protest against the killings.
On the issue of medical assistance for the ex-RAB officers, Narayanganj’s Civil Surgeon Dulal Chandra Chowdhury told he press that two doctors had been assigned upon the request of the Superintendent of Police (SP) after the arrests were made.
Replying to a query on the legality of the move, he said: “We have notified the police about the issue.”
Narayanganj’s SP Khandaker Mohid Uddin said at a briefing on Monday: “We have to produce the defendants before court in the exact same condition, in which they were handed to us.”
He said two of the ex-RAB officers needed to take medicines regularly.
“So, the former RAB officials in custody are provided with medical treatments,” added the police official.
The Narayanganj police chief, however, left the briefing before the reporters could ask anything about the progress of the investigation.-bdnews24.com
