19 'militants' killed in ‘gunfight’ in 2 months
Nineteen suspected militants were killed in alleged gunfights in past two months.
The most recent ‘gun battle’ happened on Thursday. Two militants, including Shafiul Islam aka Abu Mokaddel, accused in a case filed in connection with Sholakia attack, were killed in a gunfight with Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Nandail of Mymensingh district on Thursday night, according to text message sent from the RAB headquarters on Thursday night.
According to Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) reports, 128 killed in alleged gunfights in 2104, 146 in 2015 and 62 have been killed till 30 June, 2016.
Among them, 13 were killed while they were in police custody.
Militancy analyst and ASK acting executive director, Nur Khan, said state could get crucial information from the militants who were killed. Now the possibility has been faded, he added.
Several high-ups of law enforcing agency told Prothom Alo that militants are not giving useful information, and they are released on bail and then again get involved in sabotage.
According to human rights organisation ASK, a total of 746 suspects were killed in alleged gunfights during the last three years of BNP-led four-party alliance tenure.
During that period, BNP was in favour of alleged gunfights and Awami League castigated the actions. Now the picture has reversed.
The election manifesto of AL in 2014 did not address extrajudicial killing issue, although in 2008 manifesto, AL said they would stop extrajudicial killing.
On 23 February, 2014, Three Majlis-e-Shura members of JMB escaped from a prison van. The three members were Salahuddin alias Salehin, 38, Hafez Mahmud alais Rakib Hasan, 35, and Zahidul Islam aka Boma Mizan, 35. Hafez Mahmud was caught again by the law enforcers after a few hours and killed in a gunfight just after fourteen hours of apprehension. The two other militants are yet to be found.
On 24 November last year, a suspected member of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was killed in ‘gunfight’. Two more JMB suspects were killed on 13 January this year. Police claimed the ‘gunfight’ victims were involved in police murder and Hoseni Dalan bomb attack.
Fahim, 19, who was a Hizb ut Tahrir member, got caught by local people after chopping Ripon Chakrabarty, a college teacher in Madaripur. He was killed in a gunfight with the police on 18 June. On 19 June, another ‘militant’, Shariful, aka Sakib, who was accused of killing blogger Avijit Roy along with seven others, was killed in a gunfight with RAB.
Jamaluddin, an accused bomb attacker at Baghmara Shia mosque, was killed in a similar manner on 6 June, and on 7 June, three other militants were killed. They are Tariq Hossain Milu aka Ilias, Sultan Mahmud aka Rana and Mizanur Rahman aka Kausar. Ilias was accused of Rajshahi University professor Rezaul Karim Siddique murder, Sultan allegedly took part in Baghmara Shia mosque bomb attack and Mizanur was involved in Bogra Shia mosque attack, police claimed.
On 26 July nine militants were killed at Kalyanpur in a police raid. Nazrul, another accused of Rajshahi University professor Rezaul Karim Siddique murder was killed on 1 August by the police.
Human rights activist Sultana Kamal said RAB must be held accountable for all these killings which we consider extrajudicial killings.