RAB’ officers used to commit murders for 10,000 taka! Ex-army chief
The Chronify
Former army chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan has testified against much-discussed army officer Ziaul Ahsan. Ziaul Ahsan is accused of killing and abducting 104 people. He testified for the second day in the court headed by Justice Golam Mortuza Majumdar at the International Crimes Tribunal on Monday, February 9. The other two members of the three-member Tribunal-1 are Justice Md. Shafiul Alam Mahmud and Judge Md. Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.
In his testimony, former army officer Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan said that army officers working in RAB used to kill people for 10,000 taka. After killing those who were killed, their stomachs were cut open, their intestines were taken out, their bodies were covered with bricks and thrown into the river. The second day of the former army chief's testimony was summarized in full:
During my duty, I also came to know that some people from the Indian intelligence agency ‘RAW’ under the umbrella of Major General (Retd.) Tariq Ahmed Siddique regularly visited the DGFI office and were allowed to work in one of the seven meeting rooms there. They would identify some people as militants at different times and give their list to the DGFI. I do not know whether the DGFI took any effective action on this list or not. There are many sources to get information from the Army Chief. There are two persons/organizations under him called the Army Security Unit and the Director Military Intelligence. Apart from this, I could get a lot of information by talking to RAB officers and other people. Through this information, I came to know that the junior officers of our army are being misguided and led in the wrong direction. I will mention three incidents in this regard.
A junior officer came to my office to meet me after returning from RAB. The first question I would ask those who returned from RAB was how many people they had killed? I asked this officer the same question. He replied, six. I asked, did you kill the six directly? He replied, he killed two directly and was present when the other four were killed. I asked, how much did you get for each kill? He replied, 10,000. I asked what did you do with the money? He replied, he donated the money to the village mosque. I could tell that he had done these things against his will and had donated the money to the mosque out of guilt.
In the second incident, a Lieutenant Colonel came to my office to meet me. I also asked him how many people did you kill? He said, six. I asked him why did you do it? He replied, I was following the orders of a superior officer. I asked him, am I your superior officer or not? He said, ‘Yes’. I asked, if I offered you my hagu, would you eat it or not? He said, ‘No’. I asked him, which is worse, killing an unarmed civilian or eating hagu? He said, killing an unarmed civilian. I asked him, then why did you do it? He remained silent in reply.
The third incident was a major who had worked with me before. A few days after his posting in RAB, he met me at the army building. I asked him about an earlier incident that had come to my attention. The incident was that a girl working at Hotel Radisson was raped and killed by some miscreants while she was returning home at night. RAB, including the major, killed those people. I asked him why he took the law into his own hands? He said, these people are anti-social and have no right to live. I told him, you are also anti-social if you break the law and kill them. He then fell silent. Later, I made him promise that he would not do such things in RAB again. But to my dismay, a few days later he posted a post on Facebook, where he and Colonel Zia are seen standing with their hands on each other's shoulders against the smoky backdrop of Shapla Chattar. These were just a few examples out of countless interviews.
We all know the incident of Shapla Chattar. But I don't remember the year and date. This is a picture taken against the backdrop of the massacre that took place at the Hefazat-e-Islam rally that day. I heard that the RAB would cut open the stomachs of those they killed, take out their intestines, tie them with bricks and stones, and drown them in the river. Seeing these activities of the RAB, I kept visiting various divisions and training institutions and started motivating the officers to refrain from these activities. At one stage, I brought all the commanding officers of the Bangladesh Army to Dhaka and made them aware of their duties towards the junior officers. I reminded them that many officers have been hanged due to their involvement in the murder of Sheikh Mujib and Zia. Some more military officers are in custody with the death penalty in the 10-truck arms case. Despite all this, when I realized that the crossfire was not stopping, I stopped bringing and posting officers from the DGFI, BGB, and RAB. Many people reminded me that what I was doing was tantamount to rebellion. My only answer was that I would have to answer to Allah on the Day of Judgment. The reaction to stopping posting was also severe. I kept getting telephone calls from MSPM asking for officer postings. Once, RAB DG Benazir Ahmed came to my office and requested to provide officers to RAB. I did not give her any word. During the inauguration of Hotel Radisson in Chittagong, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called me during a meeting with the police and asked me to provide officers to RAB. I told her that it was not possible to provide officers to RAB due to the shortage of officers. This pressure continued until my retirement. But I remained steadfast in my decision.
My tenure was very painful due to the activities of RAB. The pain of not being able to do anything always haunted me. Today, the opportunity has come to complete the task of not being able to do it. Many people think that I have taken a stand against the army. My explanation in this regard is that no matter how much we try to deny it, the army has become corrupt. We should not waste the opportunity that has come to us for self-purification under any circumstances. This will not tarnish the glory of the army, but rather will elevate it to the highest peak of glory. The entire nation will know that the army never spares guilty people. This will eliminate the tendency of officers to get away with misdeeds under the signboard of the army's glory and honor. I want RAB to be abolished immediately and if that is not possible, the military members should be brought back to the military. I also want the DGFI to be abolished. Because this organization has lost the legitimacy to survive after giving birth to a bad culture like a mirror. The investigating officer questioned me. This is my statement.
During my duty, I also came to know that some people from the Indian intelligence agency ‘RAW’ under the umbrella of Major General (Retd.) Tariq Ahmed Siddique regularly visited the DGFI office and were allowed to work in one of the seven meeting rooms there. They would identify some people as militants at different times and give their list to the DGFI. I do not know whether the DGFI took any effective action on this list or not. There are many sources to get information from the Army Chief. There are two persons/organizations under him called the Army Security Unit and the Director Military Intelligence. Apart from this, I could get a lot of information by talking to RAB officers and other people. Through this information, I came to know that the junior officers of our army are being misguided and led in the wrong direction. I will mention three incidents in this regard.
A junior officer came to my office to meet me after returning from RAB. The first question I would ask those who returned from RAB was how many people they had killed? I asked this officer the same question. He replied, six. I asked, did you kill the six directly? He replied, he killed two directly and was present when the other four were killed. I asked, how much did you get for each kill? He replied, 10,000. I asked what did you do with the money? He replied, he donated the money to the village mosque. I could tell that he had done these things against his will and had donated the money to the mosque out of guilt.
In the second incident, a Lieutenant Colonel came to my office to meet me. I also asked him how many people did you kill? He said, six. I asked him why did you do it? He replied, I was following the orders of a superior officer. I asked him, am I your superior officer or not? He said, ‘Yes’. I asked, if I offered you my hagu, would you eat it or not? He said, ‘No’. I asked him, which is worse, killing an unarmed civilian or eating hagu? He said, killing an unarmed civilian. I asked him, then why did you do it? He remained silent in reply.
The third incident was a major who had worked with me before. A few days after his posting in RAB, he met me at the army building. I asked him about an earlier incident that had come to my attention. The incident was that a girl working at Hotel Radisson was raped and killed by some miscreants while she was returning home at night. RAB, including the major, killed those people. I asked him why he took the law into his own hands? He said, these people are anti-social and have no right to live. I told him, you are also anti-social if you break the law and kill them. He then fell silent. Later, I made him promise that he would not do such things in RAB again. But to my dismay, a few days later he posted a post on Facebook, where he and Colonel Zia are seen standing with their hands on each other's shoulders against the smoky backdrop of Shapla Chattar. These were just a few examples out of countless interviews.
We all know the incident of Shapla Chattar. But I don't remember the year and date. This is a picture taken against the backdrop of the massacre that took place at the Hefazat-e-Islam rally that day. I heard that the RAB would cut open the stomachs of those they killed, take out their intestines, tie them with bricks and stones, and drown them in the river. Seeing these activities of the RAB, I kept visiting various divisions and training institutions and started motivating the officers to refrain from these activities. At one stage, I brought all the commanding officers of the Bangladesh Army to Dhaka and made them aware of their duties towards the junior officers. I reminded them that many officers have been hanged due to their involvement in the murder of Sheikh Mujib and Zia. Some more military officers are in custody with the death penalty in the 10-truck arms case. Despite all this, when I realized that the crossfire was not stopping, I stopped bringing and posting officers from the DGFI, BGB, and RAB. Many people reminded me that what I was doing was tantamount to rebellion. My only answer was that I would have to answer to Allah on the Day of Judgment. The reaction to stopping posting was also severe. I kept getting telephone calls from MSPM asking for officer postings. Once, RAB DG Benazir Ahmed came to my office and requested to provide officers to RAB. I did not give her any word. During the inauguration of Hotel Radisson in Chittagong, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called me during a meeting with the police and asked me to provide officers to RAB. I told her that it was not possible to provide officers to RAB due to the shortage of officers. This pressure continued until my retirement. But I remained steadfast in my decision.
My tenure was very painful due to the activities of RAB. The pain of not being able to do anything always haunted me. Today, the opportunity has come to complete the task of not being able to do it. Many people think that I have taken a stand against the army. My explanation in this regard is that no matter how much we try to deny it, the army has become corrupt. We should not waste the opportunity that has come to us for self-purification under any circumstances. This will not tarnish the glory of the army, but rather will elevate it to the highest peak of glory. The entire nation will know that the army never spares guilty people. This will eliminate the tendency of officers to get away with misdeeds under the signboard of the army's glory and honor. I want RAB to be abolished immediately and if that is not possible, the military members should be brought back to the military. I also want the DGFI to be abolished. Because this organization has lost the legitimacy to survive after giving birth to a bad culture like a mirror. The investigating officer questioned me. This is my statement.
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