‘Arbitrary arrests will cause explosion of public anger,’ warns prime accused in killing of RAB officer

Mohammad Yeasin, the prime suspect in the killing of a RAB officer, has warned that people will “erupt in anger” in Chattogram’s Jungle Salimpur area if law enforcers arrest individuals without informing the “regional authorities” about the suspects’ names and addresses.

Mohammad Yeasin made the remarks at his office in Jungle Salimpur on Wednesday afternoon, and a 29-minute video clip of the speech surfaced on social media on Thursday.

Yeasin and Rokon Uddin lead two rival groups to rule over the area and are contesting for influence, according to police and locals. Despite being officially recorded as a public property, the hilly remote area has largely remained out of government control for the past four decades due to the presence of terrorist networks.

In the speech, Yeasin claims he is not a “terrorist”, and that he and his team “purchased” the Jungle Salimpur area. None can evict them from the land, he said, referring to an earlier failed attempt by the district administration.

The Chattogram deputy commissioner wanted to evict Yeasin and his cohort from Jungle Salimpur, but now himself has “vanished,” the controversial figure said in the video.

On Monday afternoon, a team of RAB entered the crime-infested area to detain a suspect, but themselves came under violet attacks that left a senior officer dead.