DB confirms ex-OC Rakibul’s voice in viral audio

Chief of Detective Branch (DB) Md Shafiqul Islam said a voice test confirmed that the voice in a viral audio clip of former Cantonment Police Station (PS) officer-in-charge (OC) Mohammad Rakibul Islam is his own.

He made the disclosure at a press conference in the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Media Centre on Wednesday. The audio has not been fabricated in any other way, he added.

The DB Chief said Rakibul’s voice was collected with court permission and later examined by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which confirmed that the voice in the viral audio was his own. 

However, the circumstances in which he made the conversation, where it took place and who he was speaking to are still under investigation, he added.

Asked what other information had emerged during his remand interrogation, the DB chief said whether the former OC leaked or shared any information with anyone is also under investigation. No conclusion can be drawn until the investigation is completed, he maintained.

Earlier, Rakibul Islam was arrested in the capital’s Rajarbagh area on the night of September 24. He was subsequently questioned in two phases of remand.

On September 27, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told journalists at the Secretariat that Rakibul Islam had links to the activities of banned Awami League.

In the viral audio, Rakibul is heard saying, “Nothing will happen if Sheikh Hasina returns home in December.” 
He also says Hasina should return this month instead of waiting until December and that “the police will not be able to do anything.”