Mother pleads for return of son ‘picked up by men in RAB uniform’

A group of men allegedly sporting Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) uniforms picked up 20-year-old Rahmatullah from his home in Dhaka's Dhamrai on 29 August last year.

Following his sudden disappearance, his family filed a general diary (GD) with the Dhamarai Police Station and sought help from various agencies, including RAB and the Detective Branch (DB).

Five months have passed since then without any trace of Rahmatullah.

"On the night of 29 August, a group of men in Rab uniform came to our house. I was at home with my elder son's wife, and younger son Rahmatullah was lying next to me with a fever. Then I heard a knock on our door," Momtaz Begum, Rahmatullah's mother, recounted during a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) yesterday morning.

The press conference was organised by Mayer Dak, a platform of the families of the people who fell victim to enforced disappearance.
Momtaz Begum said she opened the door and saw some men who appeared to be law enforcers in plainclothes. "Several entered my house," she added. 

"They forcibly took Rahmatullah away. When we asked why they were taking him, they said he was being taken for questioning. As they took my younger son outside, we followed them and saw a RAB vehicle and a Hiace microbus." 

There were also men in RAB uniforms, she said, adding, "They drove away with him." 

"The next morning," she went on, "we first went to the Manikganj RAB camp, and they directed us to inquire at the Dhamrai Police Station. The police provided no information. We also looked for him at the Nabinagar RAB camp and the Savar DB office. 

"Although police initially refused to file a GD, they did so on 7 October after the matter was reported in the local media." 

Rahmatullah's mother said, "Even after five months of RAB members taking my son, there has been no news of him. We looked for him in RAB offices, DB offices, and prisons. There are no traces of my son anywhere, and I am becoming increasingly unwell with worry.
Rahmatullah was an electrician by profession, said the mother.   

"My son was not involved with any political party or criminal activities. If he has committed any offence, he should be tried according to the country's law. Why would anyone abduct him? I just want my son back in good health." 

Khandoker Al Moin, director of RAB's Legal and Media wing, could not be reached by this newspaper for comments despite multiple attempts.