"There was the repeated sound of gunshots. Within seconds I saw bullets being fired indiscriminately at our car. The gunfire came from three or four motorbikes with around six or seven riders. Our driver sped up the car to save our lives. But it was no use. The motorbikes chased us, shooting continuously. Then they managed to surround us and the bullets came like incessant rain. Allah alone knows how I survived."
Md Rabiul Islam alias Robin (24) was describing the shooting incident that took place at midnight yesterday, Saturday, at the Bakalia Access Road area of Chattogram city. Two other in the car were shot dead. They were Abdullah and Mohammad Manik. A bullet caught Rabiul in the left leg. He was a friend of Abdullah. Rabiul is a driver by profession. He is undergoing treatment at Chattogram Medical College Hospital. This correspondent spoke to him in the afternoon today, Sunday.
According to eyewitnesses and police sources, a silver coloured car had been approaching Bakalia Access Road from the Karnaphuli Shah Amanat Bridge area. As the car entered the Access Road, three or four motorbikes started chasing it and then opened fire on the car. Shots were also fired from the car the motorbike riders. The car itself was bullet-ridden in several places. Two persons in the car died in the incident.
Rabiul Islam, who had been in the car, said that they had been called by Sarwar Hossain, a resident of Chandgaon area, and had gone from Oxygen to the Notun Bridge Balur Tal area. They came under attack while returning from there.
While they did not recognise the assailants, Rabiul guesses the persons involved were probably accomplices of criminal Sajjad Hossain who had recently been arrested by the police. He said Sarwar probably had previous enmity with Sajjad. Recently there was trouble between the two over Sajjad's arrest and also control in politics. That is why Sajjad's men had launched this attack to kill Sarwar.
Sarwar Hossain's name is on the Chattagram city police criminal list. He was released on bail after 5 August. There are 16 cases against him involving murder, firearms and extortion.
Rabiul lives in Oxygen area of the city with his family. He claims at 9:00pm Saturday, Abdullah (who was later shot dead) had phoned him to go Eid shopping with him. Abdullah had hired a car for the purpose. He picked Rabiul up at 10:30 in the night. Abdullah was accompanied by two friends, Md Manik and Imon.
They were heading towards the shopping centre Biponi Bitan when Abdullah received a call on his mobile phone from Sarwar in Chandgaon. Sarwar knew Abdullah from beforehand and were involved in politics together. Sarwar asked Abdullah over the mobile phone to go to the Notun Bridge area. So instead of Biponi Bitan, they were to the Notun Bridge's Balur Tal area. It was almost midnight then.
They met Sarwar at Balur Tal, said Rabiul. There were 10 or 12 persons with Sarwar,. Rabiul said. Abdullah was talking to Sarwar. Rabiul and Imon got hungry and went to Moijjartek to get something to eat and spend around one and a half hours there. When they returned, they found Sarwar and Abdullah still talking at Balur Tek. Much later Sarwar said to take out the car. The others with him went off on their motorbikes. Sarwar and another person got in their car.
With six of them in the car, they started off from Notun Bridge towards Bahaddarhat, said Rabiul. Manik was at the steering wheel. With two or three minutes of starting out from Notun Bridge, suddenly they heard gunshots. He said around eight to ten people on three to four motorbikes where chasing their car and firing indiscriminately. They continued shooting non-stop for 30 to 40 minutes. They were all wearing helmets and so were not recognisable.
Rabiul said the bullets came like rain from all directions. He said it was impossible to describe how the bullets came. They were firing and surrounded the car. A bullet fire through the rear of the car hit Abdullah in the back. Manik was hit under his arm.
Rabiul Islam and the others were screaming for their lives. Rabiul managed somehow to get out of the car. He said, when they reach the Bakalia Access Road, their car came to a halt. They saw a police car there. The assailants continued shooting even in front of the police, though the frequency lessened. They managed to get out of the car somehow, not seeing where each one had emerged. Sarwar, who was in the car, hadn't been hit. Rabiul staggered up to a nearby restaurant where he collapsed. He was hit in the leg by a bullet and couldn't walk. The people in the restaurant pulled him inside and lay him down on a table.
They pulled the shutters of the restaurant down but the assailants even opened fire on the restaurant. Things fell silent after a couple of minutes. Later the people sent him to hospital by auto-rickshaw. Injured Manik was there too. Manik was seriously injured and in tears told Rabiul, "Friend, I will not survive."
Later Manik was declared dead at the hospital. Rabiul was admitted to the casualty ward. Rabiul denied that any shots were fired from their car. He said there were no firearms in their car.
According to sources, According to sources, the gunfire was actually intended to target a certain Akram for handing over "terror" Sajjad to the police on 15 March. Akram's car was the same colour as this car. After receiving threats for handing over Sajjad, Akram's wife Ruma Akhter had filed a case in this regard. Sajjad's wife, Hasan and a few others were accused in the case.
When asked about the matter, city police deputy commissioner (south) Shakila Sultana told Prothom Alo this morning, two were killed in the gunfire. Investigations are on concerning the reason of the shootout. They are looking into if it was linked to Sajjad being handed over or regarding land dispute.