UNB, Narayanganj :
The High Court on Wednesday ordered police, Rab and seven-member probe body to submit to it by July 9 their further progress reports on investigation into the Narayanganj seven-murder case.
Passing the order, the High Court bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore also asked the three probe panels to submit before it the final investigation report (if it is completed) with recommendations within the period.
Earlier, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam placed before the court four progress reports submitted by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the director general of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police and the seven-member enquiry committee formed at the directives of the High Court to investigate the sensational seven murders.
The placement of the reports followed the HC May 14 order.
According to the progress report submitted by CID, two eyewitnesses gave depositions before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Penal Code over the involvement of Rab personnel into the sensational incident.
The investigating agency claimed that Rab personnel gave them important information which is being verified.
To a suggestion by Mahbubey Alam as to whether CID can be exempted from investigating the incident, the court replied in the negative and said it ordered one more agency to investigate the incident for comparatively a better probe report.
On May 5, the HC issued a suo moto rule asking the government to form the seven-member committee to investigate the allegation of Rab personnel’s involvement in the killing of Narayanganj city panel mayor Nazrul Islam and six others.
It also asked not to involve Rab in the investigation and directed the Rab authorities to initiate departmental investigation into the allegation.
The higher court also ordered the IGP to involve the Criminal Investigation Department and the Detective Branch of police in the probe of the murder case.
Following the gruesome incident, the Rab formed a probe team to see if any of its members was complicit in the abduction and murder.
On April 27, Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam, his three associates and driver, were abducted by miscreants from Fatullah area of the city. Hours after their abduction, senior lawyer at district Judge’s Court Chandan Kumar Sarker and his driver were also abducted on their way to capital Dhaka.
Three days into their abduction, the bodies of six people, including that of Nazrul and Chandan Kumar, were recovered from the Shitalakhya River on April 30. Besides, the following day, the body of Jahangir, car driver of Nazrul Islam, was recovered from the river.
Later, Shahidul Islam, Nazrul’s father-in-law that Rab officials killed Nazrul and others in exchange for Tk 6 crore from city councilor Nur Hossain, prime accused in the murder case, and other accomplices.
The three former officials of Rab-11 in Narayanganj -Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Major Arif Hossain and Navy’s Lt Commander MM Rana – were forced to retirement for their alleged involvement in the incident.
