Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested two people in connection with the attack on a Rab team member at Shilaidaha of Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia on Monday adjacent to the house of world poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Rab recovered 150 domestic knives from the detainees. The arrested Mithun is the son of Jamal Malitha of Darpara village and Ujjal Hossain is son of Akmal Hossain of Belgachhi village of the upazila.

On Tuesday (March 9), Rab filed a case with the Kumarkhali police station accusing 30 people in name and 30/40 others as unnamed.

According to the sources, some Rab members in white clothes came from Pabna to Shilaidaha on Monday afternoon acting on a tip off drug business surrounding the Kuthibari.

They arrested Mithun and Ujjal. When the Rab members left for Pabna wearing handcuffs them, local people barricaded Rab members thinking it was a fake Rab. The mob among them were shopkeepers of Kuthibari area. Later, to bring the situation under control, the Rab personnel fired a round of blank shots and took away Mithan and Ujjal.

According to their confession, the elite force later conducted a raid and seized 150 domestic knives, cash and mobile phones from the detainees.

Pabna RAB Acting Company Commander Aminul Kabir Tarafdar said in a statement that the two were arrested after recovering 150 pitch knives at Kasba Sharif more on the south side of Shilaidaha Kuthibari on the basis of secret information.

The Rab official said that interrogation revealed that the two had been involved in various criminal activities in their area for a long time, including illegally buying and selling knives.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) Kumarkhali police station Mojibur Rahman told that plain clothes Rab team from Pabna conducted operation there. Later, RAB arrested two people with domestic knives and handed over to them.

The situation in Kuthibari area is tense due to the incident. The traders are closing their shops and fleeing for fear of arrest. On condition of anonymity, a business leader of Kuthibari area traders are terrified. Fearing arrest, he too closed his shop and fled.