Elite Bangladesh anti-crime unit sued for maiming teen
Sixteen-year-old Limon Hussain had his leg amputated following shooting
Dhaka: Bangladesh's elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) troops were sued for maiming a teenage boy after the special police force found itself mired in controversy over extra-judicial killings, officials and reports revealed on Monday.
The mother of 16-year old Limon Hussain filed the case against six RAB personnel at a southwestern Jhalakathi court late on Sunday, saying they shot her innocent son at close range, resulting in the amputation of one of his legs.
Immediately after the case was lodged, magistrate Nusrat Jahan ordered a regular police investigation into the complaint.
The development came two weeks after the elite troops raided a Jhalakathi village during their hunt for a wanted gangster and shot college student Hussain who they believed to be an associate of the wanted gangster.
Police chief Hassan Mahmoud Khondker yesterday said he had already ordered an investigation into the incident which sparked a massive media outcry.
Quasi-judicial Human Rights Commission chief Professor Mizanur Rahman visited Hussain, who is being treated at a specialised government facility in Dhaka, and demanded an immediate home ministry investigation and stern action against the "culprits".
Claims denied
The RAB, however, insisted that Hussain was an associate of a gangster whom they were looking for. It adds that troops were forced to shoot him during the raid on the gangster's hideout.
However, the claim has been denied by other villagers and Hussain's lecturers at the college he is enrolled at. Media reports said villagers raised funds for Hussain's initial treatment despite alleged "RAB intimidation".
Britain has faced criticism from rights groups for offering training to RAB forces despite their alleged role in extra-judicial killings following a WikiLeaks disclosure of a US cable two months ago.
The criticism prompted the British High Commission in Dhaka to issue a statement saying Britain provided training to the RAB with all good reasons "to help meet its obligations to go about its business lawfully respecting the human rights".
The London-based rights watchdog Amnesty International earlier asked Britain to raise concerns before Dhaka about reports of "torture, extrajudicial executions, and excessive use of force" by the elite anti-crime troops, comprising police, army, navy and air force personnel.
