Plainclothes people introducing themselves as members of ‘Rapid Action Battalion’ picked up a writer, a cartoonist, and an activist who are critical of the government were picked up from their houses in the capital’s Lalmatia, Ramna and Uttar Badda on Monday and Tuesday.
They are businessman Mushtaq Ahmed, also a writer, of Lalmatia, cartoonist Kishore Kabir of Ramna, and IT firm owner Didarul Islam Bhuiyan, also an organiser of Rastra Chinta, of Uttar Badda.
Mushtaq Ahmed was picked up from his Lalmatia house in the capital in the early hours of Monday by a group of people introducing them as members of ‘RAB-3’.
His wife Lipa Akhter on her Facebook post at about 1:45am on May 4 wrote that people introducing themselves as RAB personnel arrived at their house and they wanted to get in.
She wrote the second post at about 3:45pm the day that read ‘People from RAB-3 picked away Mushtaq from the house and took away CPU too.’ She later wrote ‘Many vehicles arrived there’.
Mushtaque’s friends and fellows said that the victim, Mushtaq Ahmed, who goes with his penname Michel Kumir Thakur, was critical on social media over poor management in tackling COVID-19 and the government.
He wrote a book titled ‘Kumir Chasher Diary’ that was published in November 2018 and was writing another book recently.
Kishore Kabir was picked on Tuesday night from Ramna area.
Ramna police officer-in-charge Monirul Islam said RAB-3 handed Mustaq and Kishore over to them and they were sent to a court on Wednesday.
Monirul said that Mushtaq and Kishore were among 11 accused in a case. The eleven are from both home and abroad and they engage in smear campaign over coronavirus situation.
He said that Kishore drew cartoons and Mushtaq shared them social media platforms.
Monirul said that considering the ‘prevailing situation’ police did not seek remand for them.
The family of Didarul Islam said that Didar was working at his office adjacent to his house and the plainclothes people took away him at about 6:15pm.
Didarul’s brother in law Zakir Hossain Chowdhury said that the plainclothes people claimed that they were taking him in connection with another arrests. He said that they took away his laptops, CPU and mobile phones, among others.
