Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Chittagong held Shahid, a union parishad (UP) chairman, at Patenga beach at around 9:00pm.

They interrogated him at Rab-7 headquarters at Patenga till yesterday morning and then took him to Patiya and recovered two light guns. He was brought back to the Rab headquarters in the afternoon.

Talking to journalists at the Rab-7 headquarters yesterday, Shahid said that Jamaluddin, also a leader of Chittagong (South) district unit of ruling BNP, was killed about one month after his abduction on July 24, 2003.

He said that Jamaluddin was shot dead after being thrown into a cave. Kala Mahboob, Lamba Mahboob and Babu committed the murder at an outlying area of Fatikchhari upazila, he added.

Shahid, however, denied his involvement.

Sobhan, the driver of the microbus used in the abduction, in a confessional statement had named Shahid to be one of the masterminds behind the abduction.

Shahid is the UP chairman of Anwara upazila headquarters, where the village house of abducted Jamaluddin is located.

Five others named accused in the confessional statement include Kashem, Kanchan Nagar UP chairman, Nazim Uddin of Hiledhar, Ishaq Ahmad alias 'one-piece Ishaq', Shafiuddin, and Yusuf.

Speaking to the journalists, Shahid gave some contradictory information regarding the abduction incident. He accused Helal and Shahjahan of having links to the abduction. The two are business partners of Maruf Nizam, brother of Sarwar Jamal Nizam, the ruling BNP MP from Anwara.

At the same time, he [Shahid], alleged," Akhteruzzaman Chowdhury Babu, his son Javed, and Zia had plotted the abduction and had it carried out by Kashem Chairman of Fatikchhari." Akhteruzzaman Babu is a former Awami League MP from Anwara and his son Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed is the president of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"Babu paid Kashem through Zia for the abduction," he said, adding that Maruf Nizam had connived in the incident.

"Before the killing took place, Hasan Chowdhury, elder brother of Kashem Chairman, called him on his phone and proposed to resolve the crisis in exchange for money," he claimed.

Shahid however refused to answer why the proposal was directed at him when he claims to have no links to the abduction and killing.

Police had filed a case accusing 26 people in connection with the abduction. So far, 24 including Shahid have been arrested and of them, 20 are now out on bail while Kala Mahbub, Driver Sobhan, and Cadre Sultan behind bars.