Alleged gunfights with RAB, police claim 3 lives

Three people were killed in separate incidents of what the law enforcement called gunfights in Teknaf and Maheshkhali upazilas of Cox's Bazar early Thursday, reports news agency UNB.

Two of the killed were claimed by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) as drug traders while police claimed the other as a robber.

The law enforcement began an anti-drug campaign across the country on 4 May 2018. Since then some 286 people were killed in alleged gunfights with the law enforcing agencies until 21 January this year.

RAB said two drug suspects were killed in a gunfight with their members in Baharchhari, near the Marine Drive Road in Teknaf.

The identities of the deceased could not be known yet.

Tipped off, a team of RAB-7 conducted a drive in the area around 4:00am, said Mirza Mahtab Uddin, in-charge of RAB-7 camp in Teknaf.

Sensing presence of the force, the criminals opened fire to them, forcing the RAB members to retaliate in self-defence, he added.

RAB later recovered the bullet-hit bodies, Mahtab Uddin added.

The RAB also recovered 50,000 pieces of yaba tablets, two pistols, two magazines, four rounds of bullets and a light gun from the spot.

In Maheshkhali, suspected robber Helal Uddin was killed in a 'gunfight' with police near Matarbari Bridge around 3:00am, said Maheshkhali police station officer-in-charge Prabash Chandra Dhar.

Deceased Helal, 35, son of a Jakir Hossain of Khansamiaji Para in the upazila was wanted in 12 cases filed with different police stations in the upazila, the OC added.

Prothom Alo, however, could not verify the law enforcement’s version of the incidents independently as no versions of those were available immediately either from any witnesses or from any member of the victims’ families.