On 23 July 1998 he was taken from his home in Siddeswari by undercover members of Detective Branch of Bangladesh Police who started beating him immediately and accused him of having illegal weapons.
[4][5] In 1998 Human Rights organizations that challenged the power of Bangladesh Police to arbitrarily arrest people and torture them in custody.
On 3 April 2003 the Bangladesh High Court issued a ruling that halted the governments ability to detain people under the Special Powers Act on mere suspicion.
Another accused was Detective Branch assistant commissioner Akram Hussain who led the team that arrested Rubel.
Bangladesh High Court on 5 May 2011 acquitted 11 of the 12 convicted, excluding police officer Hayatul Islam Thakur.