2018 Cop Murder: Rabiul linked in every way

Though Rabiul Islam alias Arav Khan on a recent Facebook live claimed that he was not involved in the 2018 killing of a cop, the police probe report made some shocking revelations regarding his complicity.  

Rabiul rented the Banani flat where Special Branch Inspector Mamun Emran Khan was beaten to death by some of his cohorts on July 8, 2018. At the time of the murder, he was not there.

But once informed that Mamun was no more, he instructed one of his aides over the phone to confirm the cop's death by cutting a leg to see if blood spurts from the wound.

Rabiul and some of his associates then dumped the body in Gazipur. They burnt the body after pouring petrol on it so that it could not be recognised.

All this horrific information came up in the confession of Rahmat Ullah, an accused in the murder case, and a police probe report submitted before a Dhaka court.

Rabiul, who now runs a jewellery shop in Dubai, came under the spotlight after he invited cricketer Shakib Al Hasan to open the store on March 15.

In the Facebook live, he said the flat was the office of his business firm "Apan Builders". The police officer was killed inside the flat but at that time he was not present there and "had no involvement in the murder".

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

In a confessional statement, Rabiul's wife Suriya Akhter Keya, another accused in the case, said he and his cohorts rented the flat to run a sex racket.

Wealthy men would be invited there on various occasions, such as birthday parties, and get tricked into posing for indecent photos, so they could be blackmailed later.

Keya was told by an aide that Rahmat Ullah, an engineer by profession, could be a potential target. She shared the information with Rabiul, who planned to bring him to the flat.

Being invited to a "birthday party", Rahmat asked his police inspector friend Mamun to join the gathering.

As Rahmat and Mamun reached Banani, Keya and two other girls of the gang took them to the flat.

As the two were sitting in a room, Rabiul's cohorts Swapan, Didar, Atik and Mizan came in and introduced themselves as law enforcement members and started to charge them for being there for "anti-social activities".

As Mamun identified himself as a police officer and challenged them, the four started beating the officer indiscriminately. They tied up his hands and gagged him. At one stage, Mamun fell unconscious.

Rabiul, who was then outside the building, left for his Aftabnagar residence around 10:00pm, and around 12:00am, Swapan informed him that the police officer was no more.

To confirm the officer's death, Rabiul asked Swapan to cut a toe from Mamun's feet to see if blood gushed out from the wound. The body was dumped in a Gazipur bush and burnt the next day.

Rabiul also paid Tk 1,000 for refilling the car -- in which the body was carried for dumping -- at a gas station in the city's Khilkhet.

PROBE AND TRIAL

Police submitted a probe report before a Dhaka court in 2019 containing details of the murder.

According to the report and statements of the four accused, Rabiul took the police officer's motorcycle from the Banani flat and handed it over to Swapan to sell it.

As Swapan failed to find any customer for it, Rabiul asked him to leave the bike on the premises of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, from where it was later recovered.

On March 31, 2019, investigation officer Sheikh Mahbubur Rahman, an inspector of the Detective Branch of police, pressed charges against 10 people, including two minors.

On November 25, 2021, Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court-1 of Dhaka framed charges against eight people -- Rabiul Islam, Rahmat Ullah, Swapan Sarker, Didar Pathan, Mizan Sheikh, Atik Hasan, Suraiya Akter Keya, and Sarowar Hossain.

Abdus Sattar Dulal, additional public prosecutor of the court, told The Daily Star yesterday, "We got a letter from the High Court where we were asked to complete the trial of the case by one year."

The court set April 9 for the next hearing in the case.

In addition, the Juvenile Court-7 of Dhaka framed charges against two minor girls in the case on November 11, 2019.

Swapan, Didar, Mizan, and Atik in their statements said Rabiul "employed" them for the Banani flat to look after the sex racket and extort money.

Keya, who made her confessional statement to a magistrate after her arrest in connection with the murder, went into hiding after obtaining bail.

While Rabiul was never arrested, six others are behind bars.

Out of 38 prosecution witnesses, only complainant Jahangir Alam Khan testified before the court.