4 Killed in alleged gunfights with RAB, BGB

Four men were killed in alleged gunfights with the members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Teknaf upazila of Cox's Bazar and Cumilla Sadar Dakshin upazila on Sunday.

In Cox’s Bazar, three men were killed in what the RAB members called a gunfight with them in Pahari Dhala area of Teknaf upazila in the small hours of Sunday.

RAB-15 Teknaf camp official lieutenant commander Mirza Shahed Mahtab told Prothom Alo that the deceased were drug traders.

The deceased are Dil Mohammad, 42, and Rashedul Islam, 22, from Chowdhurypara area of Cox’s Bazar and Shahidul Islam,42, of Master Hat area of Amirabad in Chattogram.

Two RAB members -- Md Jahangir and Md Sohel -- sustained injuries in the gunfight, the law enforcement claimed.

Tipped off a large consignment of yaba pills, a team of RAB conducted a raid in Pahari Dhala area around 12:00am. But the gang opened fire at them that forced them to retaliate resulting in a shoot-out, said Mirza Sahed Mahtab.

The RAB members, later, recovered three bullet-hit bodies from the spot and took them to upazila health complex where the doctors declared them dead, he added.

RAB recovered 140,000 yaba pills, four locally made guns and 21 rounds of cartridges from the spot, Mirza added.

The three bodies would be sent to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital for post-mortem, said the officer-in-charge of Teknaf Model police station.

As many as 116 people have been killed so far only in Cox’s Bazar in reported gunfights with law enforcers since the anti-drug drive began on 4 May last year.

In Cumilla, a man was killed in a reported gunfight with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at Mathurapur in Sadar Dakshin upazila on Sunday morning, news agency UNB reports.

Deceased Abul Hashem, 52, of Birahimpur village of the upazila, was a drug peddler, BGB claimed.

BGB-10 commander lieutenant colonel Abu Mohammad Mohiuddin said one of their teams was conducting an anti-drug raid in the area when drug peddlers opened fire on the them, leading to a gunfight.

One of drug peddlers sustained bullet wounds during the gunfight, he said.

The BGB members took him to Comilla Medical College Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

According to the human rights organisation, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), at least 421 people were killed in alleged gunfights, crossfires or shootouts with the law enforcement agencies across the country in 2018.

In the first four months of 2019, the number of such killing was at least 115, the rights body said on its website.