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Rab's midnight raid terrorises ex-army men's family

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
A Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) team stormed into the house of a retired army officer at New Defence Officers' Housing Society (DOHS) at Mohakhali late Tuesday night on a tip off that criminals were hiding
there but the whole exercise proved futile.
The commando style midnight operation at the residence of retired lt. colonel Sirajul Islam left the inmates of the house traumatised.
Three of the sixteen-member 11
DHAKA THURSDAY JULY 22, 2004
team of the elite anti-crime force, armed with automatic weapons, crept onto the first floor of the four-story building and entered the house breaking open a door.
The colonel's 13-year-old son and his daughter, who were watching television in the room, got so frightened that they ran away shutting the other door of the room. The Rab men also broke open that door and kicked on the door of the room where Sirajul Islam and his wife were asleep.
A terrified Sirajul did not open the door fearing that robbers had entered his house but he contacted over phone DOHS security section, Cantonment Board and Kafrul Police Station. The Rab men threatened them with dire consequences if they did not open the door.
Meanwhile, the other Rab men sealed off all alleyways around the house and confined DOHS guards at gunpoint.
The three Rab men then went to the second floor of the building where a garment office is situated. Then they went to the third floor, and as soon as a Pakistani national residing there, Shahed, opened the door they knocked him down and handcuffed him as his wife and two small kids watched with horror.
Shahed, a businessman, has been residing at the flat for the last nine years and he had returned from Pakistan on the same day after a holiday.
The family members failed to understand why this was happening till Islam's former colleagues gathered in front of the house and informed them about the Rab operation.
A police sub-inspector from Kafrul Police Station visited the house yesterday.
Sirajul went to Kafrul police but
they allegedly refused to record any case or general diary. He however left a complaint on the desk of the duty officer at about 12:30pm.
A senior police official told newsmen the officer-in-charge of Kafrul Police Station had informed him about the incident at 4:00pm yesterday. He also said the 'victim' did not file any complaint.
The colonel's wife told The Daily Star yesterday the incident shows how faulty are the information they (Rab men) act on.
Sirajul said the team members later apologised and said they had made a mistake due to a wrong address.
He protested the incident and demanded an investigation into it and sought compensation for the damages caused.
The commissioner of Dhaka Metropoltan Police said it was matter with the Rab and that he knew nothing. He also declined to comment on police refusal to record a case.
The Rab in a press release last night said Lt. Commander Shahed led several teams of Rab men in carrying out an operation in new DOHS on information that three listed criminals were hiding in a house.
The armed miscreants managed to flee from the house due to direct and indirect help from the house owner. Had he (owner) helped the Rab team, they could be arrested, the press release said.
It also said the house owner made undesirable comments on the Rab action in a private television channel.
The Rab team arrested six young girls and five men in the operation, the release added.