Govt wants to withdraw CID:Daily Star

The government yesterday moved the High Court for exempting the Criminal Investigation Department from probing the sensational seven-murder case. The court is expected to decide on the matter today. In his petition, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam cited legal restrictions on inquiries into a case by two agencies simultaneously. “Separate probes may end up in varied findings, contradicting each othe
r on some points. No matter how small the differences are, it may destroy the trial," he told The Daily Star. He submitted the petition on the advice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.  Replying to a question, he dismissed the suggestion that the move was meant to save influential people or quarters. The petition by the chief legal officer of the country comes at a time when investigation of the grisly killings has seen some significant progress, with two agencies -- CID and the Detective Branch of Police -- probing the seven-murder of Narayanganj. The CID had been investigating the case as per a High Court order. The move also comes more than two months after Narayanganj ward councilor Nazrul Islam, senior lawyer Chandan Sarker and five others were abducted and killed allegedly by Rab men for money.    Three sacked Rab officers, now in jail in connection with the case, have already confessed before a Narayanganj court that they were involved in the April 27 abduction and murder. The government earlier transferred the case from Fatullah police in Narayanganj to the DB amid news reports that a section of law enforcers there were on good terms with Nur Hossain, the prime suspect in the murder case. Following the killings, the government transferred more than 80 policemen, including some DB officers, from Narayanganj.   Later in May, the HC ordered the CID to investigate the case alongside the DB to ensure transparency of the probe. In its third report on the progress of the investigation, the CID informed the HC yesterday that its probe had got stuck because it did not get the confessional statements of the three Rab men. The CID report comes amid widespread allegations that a vested quarter has been trying to ensure that only a limited number of people have access to the confessional statements. Reportedly, the accused Rab men in their statements admitted that their top officers at headquarters were involved in the murder. Mukhlesur Rahman, additional deputy inspector general of CID, said there was hardly any development in the investigation over the past few days.   “We applied to the trial court for permission for getting the confessional statements, but did not receive them yet,” he said. “We are still hopeful about the probe outcome.” Police insiders said the CID and the DB might be in a conflict over taking credit for solving the case, but Mukhlesur rejected the suggestion. Another additional DIG of the CID, Shah Alam, said the two agencies were working on the basis of a mutual understanding. Contacted, Narayanganj Police Superintendent Khandaker Mahid Uddin said there was no pressure from the government to conceal the truth. “We are probing the matter with absolute freedom."