Cops claim Shafik Rehman named 3 others

Police today claimed that journalist Shafik Rehman had disclosed the names of three more people who were involved in the alleged plot to kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

The newly revealed names and sources of the money are currently being investigated, DMP Additional Commissioner Monirul Islam told journalists at Dhaka Metropolitan Police media centre today.

“If law enforcers find any evidence against them, they will also be arrested,” the DMP official added.

Quoting Rehman, Monirul said, US$ 30,000 had been paid from Bangladesh to certain people in the United States for the documents which was seized by law enforcers from his Eskaton residence.

READ MORE: Bangladesh cops arrest journalist Shafik Rehman

Of the amount, US$ 10,000 was paid under Rehman’s name, he alleged.

Rehman came up with the information “spontaneously” when he was being interrogated during his remand, Monirul claimed while talking to reporters.

He is being interrogated following legal procedures without any sort of pressure and torture, said the police officer.

On April 22, a Dhaka court placed Rehman on a fresh five-day remand in a case filed over an alleged plot to kidnap and kill Joy, also the ICT adviser to the PM.

READ MORE: Journalist Shafik Rehman placed on 5-day fresh remand

His first five-day remand ended on Thursday.

Plainclothes detectives arrested Rehman at his Eskaton Road house in the capital on April 16. The same day, he was placed on the five-day remand.

Police on April 19, claimed that Rehman admitted to having more than one meeting with those in the US allegedly involved in the plot to abduct and kill Joy, who lives in the US. Rehman admitted to meeting four persons, including the three convicted by a US court in March last year over bribing an FBI special agent to collect confidential information, claimed police. The three are: US-Bangladesh citizen Rizve Ahmed Caesar, former FBI special agent Robert Lustyik and his "contact" Johannes Thaler.

Caesar was convicted by a US court for bribing an FBI special agent to collect information regarding a Bangladeshi political figure. The US Justice Department did not name the figure, but it is believed to be Joy.

READ MORE: DB claims Shafik admits meeting suspects in US

According to the case statement, Caesar's father Mamun and some top leaders of the BNP and its allies met in the UK, the US and various places of Bangladesh before September 2012 and conspired to abduct and kill the PM's son.

In a Facebook post on March 9 last year, Joy, also ICT affairs adviser to the prime minister, accused BNP leaders of conspiring to abduct and kill him.

Shafik, who also holds British citizenship, worked in various media outlets, including the BBC, but came in the limelight after becoming editor of the weekly Jaijaidin in the 1980s.