DB inspector Arafat handed over to police

DB inspector Arafat Hossain, who was arrested on Thursday night by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for his alleged involvement in burning bodies after piling them up on a van near Ashulia Police Station, was handed over to Ashulia police on Friday.

Earlier, RAB arrested him from Aftabnagar in the capital on Thursday night.
RAB said when the video of the incident came to light, they launched a shadow investigation. After intelligence monitoring, Arafat was arrested from Aftabnagar. At first, he was brought at RAB-4 office and, later handed over to Ashulia Police Station.

Arafat went into hiding after a video showing bodies were being burnt piling up on a van at Ashulia went viral on social media.

It is learnt that on the day of Sheikh Hasina led government's fall on August 5 last, seven students' bullet-ridden bodies were lying here and there adjacent to the wall of Islam Polymars and Plastizers Limited's officers' family quarters at Ashulia. Afterward the police personnel piled up the bodies on a van. Then the bodies were put on board a pick-up parked at Ashulia Police Station. Later, police set ablaze the pick-up which led charred the bodies. An 1 minute 14 seconds long video clip of the incident became viral on social media.

One of the people seen on the video clip wearing vests and helmets was Dhaka North DB police's investigation officer Arafat Hossain. When the matter came to light, Arafat along with others surfaced in the video clip went into hiding.

Arafat hails from Harinathpur in Barisal district. He joined the Dhaka District DB Police Department two years ago. His father Md Arif Hossain is a retired headmaster of Badartuni Secondary School and former president of Harinathpur Union Awami League.

END/SZA