Alleged gunfights kill 6 in 3 districts

Six people were killed in alleged gunfights with law enforcement agencies in Cox's Bazar, Dhaka and Gazipur early Wednesday, reports news agency UNB.

In Cox's Bazar, four people were killed in separate reported gunfights with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members in Teknaf and Pekua upazilas.

Among the four deceased two were Rohingya drug peddlers and two sea robbers, the BGB and RAB claimed.

In Teknaf, BGB said one of their patrol teams stopped a group of Rohingya men who entered Bangladesh through the Kharangkhali border around 4:30am.

“They suddenly opened fire when the BGB team challenged them, triggering a skirmish,” said Shariful Islam Jamaddar, acting commanding officer of BGB-2.

“Two men were killed on the spot,” he said, adding that 190,000 yaba pills were recovered from there.

Identities of the victims, however, could not be known immediately.

In Pekua, two suspected sea robber were killed in a reported gunfight with RAB members in Magnama coastal area around 4:30am.

RAB-7 said its team raided the area after being tipped off that a sea robber gang was preparing for robbery.

“The sea robber opened fire as soon as the RAB team reached the spot, triggering a gunfight,” said Mehedi Hasan, company commander of RAB-7.

Bodies of two sea robbers were recovered after the gun battle. RAB also seized eight firearms and 26 bullets from the spot.

The bodies were sent to a local hospital for autopsy.

In Dhaka, a man was killed in a reported gunfight with RAB at West Matikata in the capital city early Wednesday.

The deceased, identified as 30-year-old Shafiqul, was wanted in a number of cases including that of murder in Narsingdi, RAB said.

RAB-11 commanding officer lieutenant commander Kazi Shomsher Uddin said one of their teams raided the attic of a high-rise around Tuesday midnight after being tipped off about Shafiqul's location.

"Shafiqul and his two associates opened fire as soon as the RAB members reached the spot, triggering a gunfight,” he said.

Shafiqul, wounded in the gunfight, was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where physicians pronounced him dead, Shomsher said, adding that a RAB member was also injured in the incident.

RAB arrested Shafiqul's associates -- Faurk and Pradeep -- and recovered two pistols, bullets and a shotgun from the spot.

In Gazipur, a suspected mugger was killed in an alleged gunfight with police at Ershadnagar Bashpotti in Tongi early Wednesday.

The deceased is identified as Kawsar Mia, son of a certain Mintu Mia of the area. Police said Kawsar was accused in several criminal cases.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team conducted a drive to arrest Kawsar, said Arifur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police.

“He resisted arrest and opened firing on police, leading to a gunfight,” Arifur said.

“Kawsar sustained bullet wounds during the skirmish and died while being taken to the DMCH,” he added.

His cohorts managed to flee. Police said they recovered two firearms from the spot.

Prothom Alo, however, could not verify the BGB, RAB and police’s versions of the incidents independently as no version was available immediately either from any witnesses or from any member of the victims' families.

According to the human rights group, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), a total of 421 people were killed in alleged gunfights, crossfires or shootouts with the law enforcement agencies in 2018.

In January and February of 2019, the number of such killing was 50, the rights body said on its website.