‘I have no involvement with RAW’: Indian national says at Dhaka court

A Dhaka court today placed an Indian citizen on a four-day remand in connection with a general diary filed over his alleged suspicious movements.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jewel Rana passed the order after the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police produced Rabiul Islam with a seven-day remand prayer, police said.

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During the hearing, Rabiul told the court he had arrived in Dhaka on September 14.

“I often come to Bangladesh. My friends here are involved in the garment business. They send goods, and I look after them. I am also involved in the garment business,” he replied when asked about his occupation.

The magistrate asked whether he had a visa, and the investigating officer confirmed that he did.

The investigating officer told the court that the dates of birth on Rabiul’s identity card and driving licence did not match the date on his passport, and that he had given inconsistent answers during questioning.

Rabiul, 44, from West Bengal, India, was arrested yesterday from Uttara’s Sector 11 under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. According to the police forwarding report, his movements appeared suspicious, and he failed to provide specific reasons for his repeated visits to Bangladesh.

The report said, “During preliminary questioning, Rabiul showed his passport and identified himself as an Indian citizen. However, verification of the Indian passport, driving licence and identity card found in his possession revealed mismatched dates of birth. It is suspected that he may be involved in a cognisable offence.”

While being escorted to court, Rabiul told reporters, “I am being harassed for no reason. They suspect that I am involved with agents of India’s RAW, but I have no such involvement.”

He also alleged that police had not allowed him to contact his family since his arrest. “Now I feel that coming to Bangladesh was a mistake,” he added.