Friday, May 4, 2012

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Police early yesterday arrested Lt Col (sacked) Zulfiqar Ali Majumder, former commanding officer of Rab-7, for his alleged involvement in robbing Tk 2.07 crore from a shrine in Chittagong six months ago.

He was picked up from one of his relatives' house on Daktarer Goli in the capital's Moghbazar area around 4:00am, said police.

He went into hiding after Bangladesh Army fired him on Monday.

Plainclothes members of Rapid Action Battalion-7 on November 4 last year entered the Talsara Darbar Sharif in Anwara upazila and kept Pir (religious leader) Ahammed Safa Shah confined to a room at gunpoint.

The law enforcers broke three cupboards open and looted the cash kept in six travel bags.

Four months later, driver of the shrine Idris Ali filed a robbery case with Anwara Police Station accusing 10 Rab men and two of their informants.

The accused are Lt Col Zulfiqar Ali Majumder, Flight Lt Sheikh Mahmudul Hasan, Subeder Abul Bashar, Sub-inspector Tarun Kumar Basu, Assistant Sub-inspector Hasanuzzaman, Lance Naik Liton Miah, Lance Corporal Jasim Uddin, naiks Jahangir Hossain and Suman Chandra Dey, soldier Ashraf Uddin and informants Didarul Alam and Anwar Miah.

Of the accused, Tarun, Bashar and Didarul were arrested earlier.

Facing grilling by police, Tarun admitted to receiving Tk 5 lakh, Bashar Tk 7 lakh and Didarul Tk 6.72 lakh as their shares of the loot, said Inspector (investigation) Abdus Samad of Anwara Police Station.

Zulfiqar got Tk 76 lakh as his share and purchased land with the money, said Anwara police.

Zulfiqar was in the custody of Ramna police till 12:30pm yesterday. Later he was taken to Chittagong.

Talking to newsmen at Ramna Police Station, Zulfiqar said, "I was the CEO of Rab-7. I have honestly served the army for 22 years. But unfortunately, an incident occurred and a case was filed."

He blamed the media for leaving him in a predicament. "Perhaps I am in this position for the media. You see, my punishment had started even before the trial began."

The former army official said he would face the case legally.

Inspector Samad, investigation officer of the case, said they would produce Zulfiqar before a Chittagong court today seeking remand.

The Rab authorities sent the 10 accused back to their mother organisations after a departmental investigation found them guilty of robbery.

Zulfiqar was posted to Army Training and Doctrine Command unit in Momenshahi Cantonment.

Later the army carried out a departmental investigation and sacked him.

According to Rab officials, around 1,000 Rab men coming from the army, navy, air force, BGB, police and Ansar have been punished so far since the formation of the elite force in 2004 for their involvement in various unlawful activities.