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Not a single member of the Rapid Action Battalion has ‘gone into hiding’ since the fall of the Awami League government in the face of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement protests, says Lt Col Munim Ferdous, the director of the elite force’s Law and Media Wing.
RAB did not use any kind of ‘lethal weaponry’ during the student movement protests, he claimed.
“No members of RAB fled or went into hiding after Aug 5. None of them went on a work stoppage either.
Ferdous made the remarks during a press conference at the RAB Media Centre in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar on Sunday, according to bdnews24.com.
“As you know, RAB is a composite force. Our members are assigned here from about eight forces. Of these, about 44 percent of personnel came from the police. The majority of personnel here are from the police. Almost 50 percent or half. RAB is a small force. A force of about 10,000, give or take. Of this 10,000 personnel, 44 percent are from the police.
"Just as we were together in the beginning, we stood by each other until the end. Many have faced various issues, but our RAB forces have never had any problems.”
After the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5, 187 members of the police at various levels have not yet rejoined their workplaces, according to police headquarters. Like RAB, the BGB also says that none of their members are missing.
Claiming that RAB had 'stood with' the anti-discrimination movement, Ferdous said, "I have said before that no member of RAB used lethal weapons on the student protesters. In that way, we were with the general student movement. We are with them.”
He commented that "everything that needs to be done" is being done to ensure the success of the popular uprising.
On Jul 18, RAB helicopters were seen flying in the sky a day after many people lost their lives in clashes and police fire during the complete shutdown programme. There were allegations that the protesters were shot from these helicopters.
The Awami League government of that time denied the claim. Later, RAB also denied the allegation of firing on students.
In response to questions from the media, the RAB spokesman said: "We have arrested 39 high-level leaders who are accused as suspect number one or two in the case dossier. We are catching big fish every day. All in all, we have arrested 1,170 people since Aug 5.”
Ferdous said that 219 weapons and 10,642 rounds of ammunition have been recovered in the force’s operations so far.
"Our operation is ongoing," he said.