DHAKA, BANGLADESH – Limon Hossain, a college student with dark brown eyes, was returning home to Chhaturia, a village in Bangladesh, with his family’s cows when he was shot by members of a police unit. The injury caused him to lose his left leg.
Some alleged that the Rapid Action Battalion, RAB, the anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit that is under the command of the Inspector General Police and includes members of several armed force divisions, shot him on purpose. But the RAB maintains that Hossain was caught in crossfire.
"No security force can enjoy impunity on indiscriminate use of lethal force and doing torture and degrading treatments."
Before he was shot in March, Hossain was charged with obstructing the Arms Act and government duty by attempting to murder and injure RAB personnel. Soon after the shooting, Henu Ara Begum, Hossain’s mother, filed a case with the senior judicial magistrate’s court against several RAB personnel, suggesting the battalion shot her son instead of proceeding with the formal charges against him in court.
Mokhlesur Rahman, RAB director general, maintains that Hossain was the accidental victim of a shootout between RAB and criminals.
“Limon is a young boy, not a notorious criminal, but an accused in a criminal case,” he said during a media briefing here. “He just became the victim of the incident.”
Begum says she is scared for her family’s well-being.
“We are scared by the RAB professionals and under pressure to withdraw the case,” Begum says. “Thanks to the National Human Rights Commission and other human rights organization, who are actually safeguarding me and my family to seek justice.”
Citizens here say that RAB personnel have often murdered or disappeared friends and relatives, a charge RAB authorities deny. Still, residents here say they are afraid for their safety. Bangladeshi laws ensure citizens the right to life, a fair trial and humane treatment, but human rights advocates say RAB’s self-regulation avoids all accountability. Other citizens say RAB personnel are entitled to self-defense and that extrajudicial killings are the best method to eliminate notorious criminals. The government says it’s fully committed to stopping extrajudicial killings and ensuring justice.
The RAB was formed in 2004 to fight crime and terrorism in Bangladesh. Since its inception, 472 alleged criminals have been killed in the name of “crossfire” or “encounter” between associates of the criminals and RAB members, according to Odhikar, a human rights organization.
According to a report Odhikar released last month, 49 people were killed extrajudicially between January and July 2011. On average, one person was killed extrajudicially every four days. Odhikar categorizes these deaths under four causes: by crossfire, encounter or gun fight, which killed 37; torture, which claimed the lives of nine; beating, which killed one; and shooting, which also killed one. Among the dead were alleged criminals, political activists, university students, medical personnel and prisoners.
In the wake of the report, some Bangladeshis have come forward to say they witnessed the murders and disappearances of friends and family at the hands of the RAB.
Shariful Islam says he was an eyewitness in the fatal torturing of Mohammad Maniruzzaman Rubel, 28, earlier this year. Islam says police arrested him and Rubel on a charge of stealing a motorcycle and tortured them. He says the one officer beat them both severely with a thick wooden stick while interrogating them about the motorcycle. He says the officer also hung Rubel from his handcuffs and repeatedly struck his legs.
Islam says he was released, but police kept Rubel at the police station. Islam says Rubel died the following morning at Tangail General Hospital in central Bangladesh as a result of injuries suffered during police torture.
