Man killed in alleged gunfight with police

Prothom Alo Illustration
Prothom Alo Illustration

A man was killed in a reported gunfight with police in Ulusamari area of Teknaf upazila in Cox’s Bazar early Saturday.

Deceased Ziaul Bashar alias Shahin, 30, son of a certain Syed Ahmed from Paschim Sikderpara in Hneela upazila, was an enlisted yaba trader, said Teknaf police station officer-in-charge Pradip Kumar Das.

He was also accused in seven drug related cases, the OC added.

“A team of police arrested Ziaul from in front of Hneela station mosque on Friday noon. After getting information from him about yaba tablets, police conducted a drive in the area along with Ziaul to recover those contraband pills and arms,” OC Pradip said.

When the team reached the area, Ziaul’s aides opened fire on the law enforcement prompting them to fire back, he added.

The yaba traders retreated after a brief spell of gunfight. Later, police retrived bullet-hit Ziaul and took him to Teknaf upazila health complex, where physicians declared him dead on arrival.

Three policemen also were injured in the incident, OC Pradip added.

Police recovered 15,000 yaba tablets, three arms and 15 rounds of bullet from the spot.

Prothom Alo, however, could not verify the law enforcement’s version of the incident independently as no version of it was available immediately either from any witness or from any member of the victim’s family.

According to legal and human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra, as many as 362 people were killed in “crossfire” and “shootouts” with law enforcement agencies between January and September this year.