RAB nabs fake protocol officers of PM, family members

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested two men on the charge of cheating people with jobs, transfers, and tenders by introducing them as members of the protocol team of the Prime Minister and her family.

The arrestees are identified as Sri Haridas Chandra Tarani Dash alias Tawhid, 34, of Bogura and Md Imran Mehedi Hasan, 38 of Mymensingh, Commander Khandaker Al Moin, media wing director of the elite force said.

While addressing a press conference at RAB’s Kawran Bazar media centre, Moin said that based on secret information, a team of RAB-3 conducted raids at different places in Banani area of Dhaka and arrested the duo on Monday night.

The members of the elite forces also recovered four mobile sets, some documents and an edited fake photo of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from their possession, he said.

Introducing him as the protocol officer of the prime minister’s family members and her relatives, Haridas has indulged in illegal tender and other business and extortion and embezzled crores of money, Moin said.

Haridas, who is the mastermind of the fraud gang, also used to cheat people by introducing him as protocol officer or personal secretary to the top officials of the government, he said.

In 2014, Haridas attached a picture of the prime minister with his own photo through editing and since then he drew a plan for how to cheat the people by cashing the picture.

He purchased a piece of land in Fulbaria area of Mymensingh in 2019 and emerged as a rich person in the area with the help of his father-in-law.

Haridas used to build good relations with local political leaders and wealthy people and introduced him as the protocol officer of the prime minister and her family.

He used to take part in open tender of many development projects in the area using the fake identity and offered people including government officials to help them get government jobs and transfer, Moin said quoting the Haridas.

He embezzled crores of money in association with Imran, an official of the health directorate, said the RAB official.

During primary interrogation, Haridas confessed that he purchased a lot of land in Fulbaria area and he has many bank accounts. And evidence relating to transactions of crores of money has also been found in those bank accounts, Moin added.