A microbus was speeding along the Dhaka–Khulna highway, honking loudly, with another microbus following closely behind. The unusual scene raised suspicions among locals near Joy Bangla Mor in the Char Jashordi Union of Faridpur’s Nagarkanda upazila. Acting on instinct, they blocked the road with a tree, forcing the first vehicle to stop. The passengers in the vehicle claimed to be members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), but none were in uniform, which further aroused doubts. When the group attempted to flee, locals detained and began beating them.
Shortly afterward, the second microbus arrived, carrying actual RAB personnel. Although a few were in uniform, others were in plain clothes. As they tried to identify themselves and rescue the detained individuals, the crowd, still enraged and confused, attacked them as well, assuming they were part of the same fake RAB group. Eventually, police and additional RAB forces from Nagarkanda Police Station arrived, brought the situation under control, and rescued both parties.
The incident occurred on Monday around 7 p.m. Nagarkanda Police Station’s acting officer-in-charge, Sub-Inspector Amirul Islam, confirmed that both the fake and real RAB members were taken to the station. Later, around 8:30 p.m., RAB-10 personnel transported the detainees to the Srinagar Police Station in Munshiganj.
According to a RAB-10 press release, the five detained individuals were impersonators involved in a robbery targeting two gold traders. They were identified as Swapan Khan (45) from Jajira, Shariatpur; Mintu Gazi (45) from Modna, Chandpur Sadar; Md. Saiful Islam (30) from Sundarganj, Gaibandha; Md. Jamil (32) from Andarchar, Kalkini, Madaripur; and Didar (29) from Hidadanga, Alfadanga, Faridpur. The process to hand them over to police is underway.
RAB-10 Faridpur Camp Commander Tariqul Islam explained that their team had been chasing the robbery suspects from the headquarters. The misunderstanding occurred because several RAB members were in plain clothes, which led the agitated crowd to mistake them for criminals. RAB-10 Munshiganj Camp Commander Anwar Hossain added that the fake RAB members had initially managed to cross the Padma Bridge toll point, but were eventually caught. He said that in trying to prevent the mob from fatally beating the suspects, his team was also attacked. However, he noted that the situation was under control and the incident was not serious enough to warrant formal complaint.
