Staff Reporter :Police on Tuesday searched the residence of arrested journalist Shafik Rehman and claimed that they recovered ‘confidential FBI documents’ related to an abduction attempt on Prime Minister’s son Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed Joy, from his US residence. Detective Branch (DB) of police also claimed that the senior journalist confessed to holding several meetings with those suspected to be involved in a plot to abduct and kill Sajeeb Wazed Joy.Deputy Commissioner for DB branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Mashruqur Rahman Khaled said that the Eskaton Road’s house of Shafik Rehman was searched on Tuesday afternoon. “Shafik Rehman has handed over some secret documents to us. The documents pertain to Joy’s whereabouts in the US, which Shafik Rahman had preserved so long. The DB police seized these documents,” he said. According to him, the police took Shafik Rehman with them to search his house after he had admitted to meeting with the conspirators targeting killing of Sajeeb Wazed Joy and having some documents related to the case as well.Khaled said, “During questioning in police custody, Shafik Rehman said he had received these documents from (former) FBI agent Robert Lustyik.” He also said, “Shafik Rehman had said that he had information and no-one but him can find them at his home. That is why the DB police took him during the raid and seized the confidential documents.”After seizing the documents from Shafik Rehman’s house, Monirul Islam, additional commissioner of the DMP, at a media briefing said that during their questioning, Shafik Rehman had admitted to holding several meetings with those convicted by a US court for bribing the former FBI official to get information on Joy.Asked about Amar Desh acting editor Mahmudur Rahman’s involvement in the case, Monirul Islam said that they were looking into the matter. The law enforcers have already submitted an application for Mahmudur Rahman’s remand for further investigation in the case, he said.”We are also investigating whether BNP chief’s son Tarique Rahman and other senior party leaders were involved,” he said. The family members, however, said that the DB police took Shafik Rehman to his house and seized some files and documents. “As a journalist, Shafik Rehman collected some papers related to bribing of an FBI special agent to collect information regarding a Bangladeshi political figure,” said Shafik Rehman’s wife Taleya Rahman, who is also former BBC journalist. On Saturday, plainclothes detectives entered his Eskaton Road’s residence identifying themselves as Boishakhi television reporters “to interview him”. However, before leaving with him, they told family members that they were detectives, according to his wife.Police at first denied arresting him when reporters contacted them. Later, Deputy Commissioner (Media) of DMP Maruf Hossain Sarder on Saturday admitted that detectives arrested Shafik Rehman. But he denied that the DB men posed as journalists.
