The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested Md Kabir, a close associate of Faisal Karim Masud, the main accused in the attempted murder case of Inqilab Moncho spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi.

Kabir was detained in Narayanganj on Monday evening, RAB Director (Legal and Media Wing) MZM Intekhab Chowdhury said, adding that he will be handed over to Paltan police station.

The battalion said Kabir, along with Faisal, visited the Inqilab Cultural Centre at Banglamotor in Dhaka, a few days before the attack on Hadi.

According to the RAB, both Kabir and Faisal are from Patuakhali district. A resident of Nabodoy Housing Society in Dhaka’s Adabar, Kabir is the joint convener of a ward unit under Adabar thana of the Awami Swechchhasebak League.

One of the leaders of the July Uprising and a prospective independent candidate for the upcoming national election from Dhaka-8, Hadi was shot and critically injured on Box Culvert Road in the capital’s Paltan area on 12 December.

He sustained bullet injuries to the head and was initially taken to DMCH, where he underwent surgery, before being transferred to Evercare Hospital later that night. Doctors said his condition remains “critical”.

Two days after the incident, a case was filed with Paltan police station on Sunday, naming Faisal Karim Masud and several unidentified individuals on charges of attempted murder and the use of illegal firearms.

Meanwhile, Hadi was admitted to Singapore General Hospital on Monday after being flown to the country by an air ambulance for treatment.