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Five people, including a serving member of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), have been arrested in Banani while allegedly preparing to carry out a robbery.
Police recovered a foreign-made pistol, a magazine, a walkie-talkie, a pair of handcuffs bearing the Bangladesh Police emblem, a roll of black Scotch tape, a shopping bag and a Hiace microbus from them.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Gulshan Division conducted a raid and arrested the five suspects red-handed.
The operation was carried out at around 9:35am on Thursday in front of Khayer Palace on Road 4 in Block A of Banani. A team of around 45 DB personnel took part in the operation.
The arrested suspects were identified as Md Masud Rana, 29, Md Rajib Howlader, 30, Hafizul Matbar, 24, Mohammad Shakil Hossain, 24, and Md Badal, 42.
According to DB sources, Masud Rana is a soldier of RAB and is currently posted at the RAB headquarters’ Dog Squad.
RAB Director of Legal and Media Wing M Z M Entekhab Chowdhury told Prothom Alo that he was aware of the incident. He said Masud Rana was arrested by the DB immediately after the incident and, following initial questioning, was handed over to RAB authorities.
He added that RAB had formed an inquiry committee headed by a major to investigate the incident. Appropriate disciplinary action would be taken if the allegations were proven, he said.
At a press conference at Minto Road in the capital, DB chief and Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam said legal proceedings against the arrested individuals were underway at Banani Police Station.
Authorities are investigating whether the suspects were involved with any organised criminal gang, the source of the recovered firearm and whether they had been involved in any previous crimes, he added.