4 people killed in Jessore ‘gunfights’

Four people were killed in what the police called gunfights between rival groups of gangs of robbers in two separate places in Jessore in the small hours of Saturday.

According to the police claim, the gunfights took place in Jessore sadar and Jhikargaccha upazilas and all of the victims were members of robber gangs.

Talking to Prothom Alo, Jessore Kotwali police station officer-in-charge AKM Azmal Huda said acting on a tip-off that a gunfight was taking place between two groups of robbers in Nongarpur Mazar area of Jessore sadar, a team of police conducted a drive there and recovered two bullet-hit bodies.

In another incident in Jhikargaccha upazila, police recovered bodies of two more people.

Jhikargaccha police station assistant sub-inspector Rafiqul Islam said they acted on a piece of information that a gunfight was taking place between two robber gangs and went to Chapatala village around 3:00am and recovered the two bodies.

But the police’s versions of the incidents could not be verified independently as no accounts of the events were available immediately either from witnesses or from members of the victims’ families.

Police said the bodies of the four people were sent to Jessore general hospital for autopsy.