RAB chief pledges joint raids to clear Jungle Salimpur ‘safe haven for criminals’ after Nayek Motaleb murder

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Director General AKM Shahidur Rahman has announced joint operations to clear Jungle Salimpur of “criminals and illegal occupation”, a day after a member of the force was killed there.

Speaking to journalists at the RAB‑7 headquarters in Patenga on Tuesday after attending the funeral of Nayek Subedar Abdul Motaleb, a deputy assistant director of RAB‑7, Shahidur vowed to dismantle what he described as a “safe haven for criminals”.

“We will eliminate the criminals’ safe haven no matter how long it takes,” he said, addressing repeated attacks on law enforcers in the area.

He added that all law-enforcing agencies would work together to recover government land from illegal occupation in Jungle Salimpur.

“They are in no way more powerful than the state. We will eliminate this safe haven of criminals,” Shahidur said.

Authorities have long described Jungle Salimpur, on the outskirts of Chattogram, as a hotspot for crime and illegal settlements. The killing of Abdul Motaleb has renewed calls for decisive action.

Abdul Motaleb was killed on Monday afternoon. Three other RAB members were also injured during the clash between them and criminals. They are undergoing treatment at Combined Military Hospital, Chittagong.

The clash erupted during a RAB operation.

In a media statement issued on Monday night, RAB-7 stated its members conducted an operation against some “armed criminals” around 4:15pm in the Jungle Salimpur.

An estimated 400 to 500 miscreants launched a sudden attack on RAB members after announcements over a loudspeaker, the statement said.

Asked whether the Jungle Salimpur raid was conducted with a small number of personnel, the RAB DG said around 50 officers took part in the operation.

He said a probe body has been formed to investigate whether there were any flaws in planning and conducting the Monday raid.

A case was being filed over the murder, he said, pledging to bring to book those responsible for the murder.

Shahidur said RAB will look after the family of Abdul Motaleb.

CRIMINALS SEIZED WEAPONS FROM RAB

Earlier in the morning, Chattogram district police said criminals abducted several RAB members during Monday’s raid after seizing their weapons.

Other members of the force rushed to the scene, rescued the RAB personnel, and recovered the weapons, police said.

A raid to arrest those responsible has already been launched, aided by CCTV footage, police said.

Police say Jungle Salimpur is a zone where outsiders outnumber locals.