Bangladesh’s former Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police chief Benazir Ahmed had built a disgraceful reputation as a man who presided over the “enforced disappearance” of hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent Bangladeshis. Today, Ahmed is said to have disappeared from Dhaka.
Bangladeshi media is agog with stories that Ahmed may have left the country as early as May 4. He is suspected to have withdrawn Taka 100 crore from one or more of his several bank accounts and taken a circuitous route to Dubai via Singapore.
The Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is said to have found that Ahmed and his family members withdrew Taka 100 crore after settling some of their fixed deposits across some banks before his bank accounts and moveable properties were frozen.
Ahmed appears to have fled the country ahead of his interrogation by the ACC, on June 6.
It is highly unlikely that a ‘police state’ such as Bangladesh would not know the whereabouts of a former police chief who had attained notoriety on many fronts – as a cruel policeman who did the Awami League regime’s bidding insofar as killing innocents is concerned, a corrupt officer who amassed huge unaccounted for wealth and, certainly till recently, was in the good books of the ruling party.
Bangladeshi senior officials wondered whether Ahmed will now be declared a “proclaimed offender”.
Many in responsible positions in Bangladesh’s bureaucratic and police hierarchy suspect that the Sheikh Hasina regime may have facilitated Ahmed’s getaway.
Ahmed did not react to the government’s recent decision to confiscate his wealth and immoveable property, a move which came well after he is believed to have fled the country.
Was Ahmed tipped off about the government move against him in advance or was the property attachment drama orchestrated to give the appearance of genuine action against an offender who should now face the law?
There is no doubt that the Awami League government’s hands are dipped in blood. The likes of Ahmed and other RAB officers executed government orders to carry out the criminal act of “enforced disappearances” which is really a euphemism for murdering them in cold blood.
Indeed, Ahmed and at least six other senior RAB officers, besides this rogue organisation, were slapped with strong sanctions by the US Treasury Department.
Ahmed and his RAB colleagues were “Specially Designated Persons” by the US Treasury Department on December 10. 2021.
The US Treasury Department document clearly states that Ahmed, born on October 1963, held an ‘active’ passport (No. B00002095) which is valid till March 3, 2030. Ahmed’s National ID number is 5051953882.
This, in effect, means that Ahmed may not be able to travel to the United States or other western countries. For him, Dubai is a likely destination considering the leeway that Bangladeshi nationals, especially high-value individuals, get and take advantage of in this Gulf emirate.
Many wealthy Bangladeshis, including politicians, have parked huge amounts of money in Dubai. They have also built palatial homes there. But never did the Awami League regime, which has been in power consecutively since 2008, ever take any action against persons with access to unaccounted for money.
On the contrary, such individuals were favoured and protected by the ruling party. Take, for instance, the case of murdered Awami League MP (from Jhenaidah-4 constituency) Anwarul Azim Anar who is suspected to have been murdered for reasons that are being linked to huge amounts of money made from gold and diamond smuggling and electoral nomination bribes.
While the Bangladeshi Detective Branch and the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have preferred to remain silent on the motive behind Anar’s alleged ‘murder’ in Kolkata, the former has already proclaimed that he was killed by men hired by one his close US-based associates.
