Murder accused killed in alleged gunfight with cops

A man was killed in an alleged gunfight with police in Daspara of Bera upazila in Pabna district on Saturday night.
Deceased Nizam Mandal, 42, from Mirpur village of the upazila, was a member of an extremist group, Sarbahara, police claimed.
The law enforcement said he was an accused in nine cases, including that of the murder of three police members in Dhalarchar union in 2010.
Acting on information that a gang of robbers taking preparation for committing robbery in Daspara village, police conducted a raid in the area around 11:30pm, Aminpur police station officer-in-charge Abu Obayed told Prothom Alo.
Sensing the presence of the law enforcement, the robbers opened gunfire on police, prompting them to shoot back, triggering the gunfight, he added.
The robbers fled the scene after 12-15 minutes of gunfight, the OC said.
Later, police recovered the bullet-injured person and sent him to Bera upazila health complex where physicians declared him dead around 1:00am, Abu Obayed said.
A locally-made pistol, two rounds of bullet, and three machetes were seized from the scene, he said.
Three policemen were also injured in the gunfight, OC Abu Obayed claimed.
"The law enforcement’s version of these events was, however, not verified independently as no version of the incident was available immediately either from any witnesses or from any members of the victim’s family."