3 ‘robbers’ killed in ‘gunfight’

Three suspected robbers were killed in a “gunfight” with police in Cox’s Bazar early yesterday.

The dead are Ayub, 35, Junayed, 33, and Mehedi Hasan, 32, said police.

Pradip Kumar Das, officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station, said a police team conducted a raid in Nurullaguna hill area around 3:30am on information that 10 to 15 robbers were preparing to commit robbery.

As police reached the area, criminals opened fire, forcing the law enforcers to retaliate, he claimed.

At one point of the “gunfight”, police recovered bullet-hit bodies of Junayed, Mehedi and Ayub. The law enforcers rushed them to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital where doctors declared them dead, he added.

The bodies were sent to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Two policemen -- one additional superintendent and an inspector -- also sustained bullet injuries during the “gunfight”, he further added.

Police claimed to have recovered seven locally-made firearms, five sharp weapons and 25 bullets from the spot.

Meanwhile, another man was shot dead in the district’s Marine Drive road around 2:00am.

The dead Imran Molla, 27, was a suspected drug peddler, said police.

According to OC Pradip, Imran was killed by his cohorts.

A patrolling team of police witnessed the incident, recovered Imran and sent him to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead, the OC claimed.

Police detained two men -- Saifuddin Shahin, 38, and Siddique, 27 -- in connection with the murder, he added.

The body was sent to the hospital’s morgue for autopsy.