9 named accused arrested over killing of police officer in Savar
RAB says most accused linked to local gangs, under influence during assault
Nine out of 15 people named in the case over the killing of Special Branch Sub-Inspector Altaf Hossain, 58, in Savar's Aminbazar have been arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion and police.
RAB said most of the accused were involved in drugs and Kishore (teen) gangs, and some were under the influence of drugs during the attack.
Four accused – Alauddin, 26, Apon, 30, Jihad, 20, and Imran, 26 – were arrested by RAB-10 from the launch terminal area of Munshiganj Sadar around 7:30pm yesterday (6 September).
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Later that night, RAB-4 arrested Noor Mohammad Rudra, 24, Md Rakib Mia, 28, Sabbir Ahmed, 24, and Md Wasim, 40, from Aminbazar.
Earlier that morning, Savar Model Police arrested Jahirul Islam, 30, the driver of the car and the first accused in the case, from Aminbazar.
RAB-10 Commander Additional DIG Mohammad Asaduzzaman disclosed the arrests at a briefing at the RAB Media Centre in Karwan Bazar today (7 September).
He said RAB-10 tracked the accused from Sadarghat using information technology before locating them at a launch terminal in Munshiganj.
"Initially, we arrested two of them from the launch. We then travelled about a kilometre and arrested the other two, bringing the total to four," he said.
RAB-4 subsequently arrested four more accused using information technology, he added.
"Of the 15 accused named in the case, RAB-10 arrested four and RAB-4 arrested four, bringing the RAB total to eight. Local police also arrested one person. In all, nine people have been arrested," Asaduzzaman said.
He said Apon and Jihad had become increasingly involved in criminal activities and had previous police records. They allegedly operate Kishore gangs in the area and are heavily involved in drugs.
How the attack unfolded
The attack took place between around 8:30pm and 11pm on 5 September in the Borodeshi area of Aminbazar over the dispute involving the auto-rickshaw garage.
Altaf was not targeted because he was a police officer, Asaduzzaman said.
The SB officer was in civilian clothes when he intervened after seeing elderly auto-rickshaw garage owner Abul Kalam Azad being assaulted.
According to RAB, the incident began when five people travelling in a car got into an argument with Azad over an auto-rickshaw parked in front of his garage. The group got out of the car and slapped and assaulted him.
Altaf tried to stop the assault and settle the dispute, but the group turned on him. As the situation escalated, he ran to his son's nearby small garment factory and locked himself inside.
The five attackers then called members of a local Kishore gang, and around 25-30 people eventually gathered at the scene. They broke down the factory door and entered.
Even after Altaf identified himself as a police officer, the attackers continued beating him with crude weapons, RAB said.
The RAB-10 commander said that Alauddin attacked Altaf directly, while Jihad stabbed him with a knife.
Apon, described by RAB as a key leader of the local Kishore gang, allegedly struck Altaf on the head with an SS pipe. RAB said it had initially found information about three drug cases against Apon.
Imran also took part in the attack, according to RAB.
Altaf's younger son Ariful came from the rear of the factory after hearing his father's screams and tried to intervene.
The attackers knocked him down and struck him on the head with a hammer, leaving him seriously injured.
RAB said SS pipes, knives and other locally made weapons were used in the attack.
Asaduzzaman said the incident did not appear to have stemmed from a pre-planned dispute.
"The incident started suddenly," he said.
Altaf was beaten to death, while his son is undergoing treatment at a hospital.
