There have been allegations of widespread irregularities in the purchase of armored vehicles of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). In the project taken in 2018, along with the violation of tender rules, information is available about the purchase of vehicles from reputed organizations. Even these security vehicles have been brought at a much higher price than the market price. Where it is seen, at least 300 percent more money has been spent than the market rate. A car worth Tk 2 crore with special security weapons was bought for Tk 6 crore. In this way, 24 crores were spent to buy four cars.

The project of Tk 133 crore 98 lakh 40 thousand was taken to increase the capacity of RAB. The project was approved in the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting on November 7, 2018. It was decided to purchase 1 thousand 375 different types of vehicles under the project. The decision to purchase 26 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) or armored vehicles was part of that project. Four of which have reached APC countries. An application has been made to purchase 10 APCs by increasing another 50 lakh rupees. According to the calculations, the state has lost 16 crore rupees in the four cars bought so far. If the remaining 22 are bought for 6.5 crores, the loss will be 99 crores.

After the approval of the project titled 'Increasing the Combat Capability of RAB Forces', a price fixing committee was formed to buy the vehicles. The committee held a meeting in the conference room of the RAB headquarters on November 30 last year. According to the minutes of that meeting, the project includes 1 thousand 375 different types of vehicles including six watercrafts. The purchase price of 735 of these vehicles is proposed as per the rates set by the Ministry of Finance. The remaining 624 DPP prices are maintained by considering the market price. Where each proposed APC is priced at Rs 6 crore.

According to sources at RAB headquarters, 26 APCs were proposed, but initially it was decided to buy four. Syed Mahbub Khan, Additional Secretary of the Cabinet Division, confirmed the release of money to the media persons on December 13 last year to buy APCs. He said in a virtual press conference that day that buying four APCs will cost around Tk 24 crore. He also said that a company called Intel Age and Corporation will provide them. According to RAB sources, on May 17, four APCs were released from Chittagong port and brought to RAB headquarters. These APCs were inaugurated the next day on May 18. Sources said the APCs were procured through direct procurement rather than through International Competitive Tendering (ICT). The provision of giving work orders to government institutions or experienced in direct procurement was also not followed.

According to the RAB sources, another meeting of the vehicle pricing committee was held at the RAB headquarters on March 11 of this year. The minutes of that meeting came to Kalbela. It is written there, the purchase price of 735 vehicles is proposed as per the rate fixed by the Ministry of Finance. The current market price of only 26 APCs was determined through the pricing committee. In fixing the price of the remaining 598 vehicles, the approved DPP price has been retained by considering the market price. A section at the bottom of the report lists the prices of various vehicles. The price of APC, which is number 12 in that list, has been increased by another 50 lakh taka to 6 crore 50 lakh taka. It is learned that a rebate application has been made to buy 10 more APCs at this price.

Investigation revealed that the DPP of this project has instructions to purchase APC through ICT, making it impossible to purchase through DPM system. The conversion of ICT to DPM requires the approval of Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Administration and Ministry of Home Affairs separately. It usually takes five to six months to get approval from the four ministries. But in case of purchase of armored vehicles, all the processes are completed in just one month. In this case, the name of businessman Khaledur Rahman Shakeel, who introduced himself as the niece and son-in-law of an influential minister, came into discussion. This Shakeel was present at the inauguration of APC. It is known that the senior authorities of RAB and two senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs have a close relationship with Shakeel due to being a relative of the minister. The two officers have BCS batchmates in Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Public Administration. It was through them that Shakeel quickly converted the DPP proposal from ICT to DPM. Later, RAB bought four APCs for Tk 24 crore with a work order to a Bangladeshi private company named Intel Age and Corporation. The Managing Director (MD) of this Intel Age is businessman Khaledur Rahman Shakeel.

A direct search and an online search did not reveal the existence of any company named 'Intel Age & Corporation'. However, a page of Intel Edge can be found on the social media Facebook. Which was created on March 8, 2022. The company's page has only 48 likes. The page reads, 'Intel Age is a company founded in 2022. The company is registered as a commissioning agent and registered as a supplier of all types of defense related product requirements or services to the Government of Bangladesh. Also, a website address (www.inteledgeltd.com) is given on the page but it is not active.

As per the terms of DPM, the contract has been given to a newly formed company even if it is given to a company with experience in government or related matters. Intel Edge is said to have purchased these APCs from a Dubai-based company and supplied them to RAB. The name of that company in Dubai is Strait Group. This Dubai-based company supplies various equipment to the military worldwide. Kalbela received a copy of the 'strait group' tender submitted to the RAB headquarters. There, depending on the specification, the price of APC is shown from 1 lakh 20 thousand dollars to 2 lakh 50 thousand dollars. The value of the dollar in the country was Tk 110 on the November 30 valuation date. According to that, the price of these APCs stands at 1 crore 32 lakh to 2 crore 75 rupees. When asked, Khaledur Rahman Shakil told Kalbela, "I have supplied four APCs to RAB at a cost of 23 crore something." When asked about the process, he said, they were supplied through tender.

A member of the procurement committee confirmed to Kalbela that the price of APCs purchased by RAB is 1 lakh 70 thousand US dollars. At the dollar rate of 110 taka, the value of these APCs stands at 1 crore 87 lakh taka. To confirm the matter, Kalbela contacted the company named Straight Group. The company has been mailed asking for the specifications of these APCs. They did not reply to the mail. Then a senior official of the company was asked about the price on WhatsApp. In response, he asked to apply with the details of the particular company and the information about the capacity. Later, Kalbela sent the quotation paper to the company and asked whether the quotation paper was theirs or not, and the company confirmed the matter. There is a sky high gap between the price of APC and quotation paper supplied to RAB. RAB bought these APCs at a price of Tk 6 crore each, which is about 300 percent higher than the market rate.

A member of the pricing committee told Kalbela, the company named 'Intel Age and Corporation' from which the APC was purchased came into the market in 2022. When asked if there is any restriction on buying through international tenders due to the US ban, the official told Kalbela, "There is no such restriction." In the same DPP, RAB procured equipment for the intelligence wing of RAB through ICT tenders.

Transference International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman told Kalbela, RAB is a law enforcement agency. We think it is mandatory for RAB to ensure transparency and accountability. If they spend people's money and buy things at three times the price, it is a big irregularity. Waste of state resources. All those who are involved in such incidents and those who have indulged them should be brought under the law. Surely the entire army is not involved in this work. People's confidence in RAB will be lost if those involved are not brought under the law.

When asked to know, RAB's recent DGM Khurshid Hossain told Kalbela that in 2018, the price of these has been fixed at 6 crore something Bangla taka. At that time, the dollar was 80 rupees. But currently dollar rate is 115 taka and APC purchase is less than 6 crores. If you take the previous price, the price will be 7 crores. Apart from that they are made to order from South Africa, they are right hand. Earth's core APCs do not have AC, they have AC. Avoiding the question whether businessman Khaledur Rahman made the purchase through Shakeel or not, M Khurshid Hossain said that Shakeel is not an issue. Apart from that, DG did not buy them alone. Purchased with the permission of the Ministry.