4 killed in Khagrachhari gunfight: Police

Four people were killed in a gunfight between two groups at Dighinala of Khagrachhari at around 8:00pm on Friday, the police have said.

Police and local residents said the incident of gunfight took place between the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (JSS) and the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF).

Around 8:00pm, two groups from two different organisations confronted each other in the Sindhu Karbaripara area, and both sides opened fire.

According to the police, four members of the military wing of the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF), known as the “People’s Liberation Army,” were killed in the incident. However, their names and identities have not been confirmed.

Dighinala police station officer-in-charge Md Zakaria told Prothom Alo around 1:00pm on Saturday that the clash occurred between the main faction of the JSS and the UPDF. Four UPDF members were killed in the exchange. Both sides are still positioned against each other.

However, UPDF organiser Angya Marma denied the police's claim.

In a press release issued on Saturday afternoon, he stated that the reports of four UPDF members being killed are completely false and baseless rumours.

He said the UPDF has no information about any such gunfight. Furthermore, the UPDF does not have any military wing named the "People’s Liberation Army." He called the claim irrelevant and fictitious.

In the press release, Angya Marma also alleged that a particular group has launched a false campaign to divert public attention from the ongoing protest against the gang-rape of a Tripura teenage girl in Bhaibachhara.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Angya Marma said that no such incident has occurred involving their party and that this is a smear campaign against them.