2 'criminals' killed in 'gunfights'

Two suspected criminals including an alleged yaba trader were killed in separate “gunfights” in Cox's Bazar and Kushtia early yesterday.

Cox's Bazar police claimed suspected drug trader Ziaur Rahman, 34, was killed in the Marine Drive road area of Teknaf upazila as law enforcers conducted a raid there around 4:00am.

Sensing the presence of police, criminals opened fire on them, forcing them to retaliate. Ziaur was injured during the “gunfight”. He was taken to a local health complex where doctors declared him dead, said Pradip Kumar Das, officer-in-charge of Teknaf police.

An accused in several cases, Ziaur was on a list of drug traders prepared by the home ministry, the OC said, adding, they recovered a pistol, 21 bullets and 20,000 pieces of yaba pills from the spot.

Nur Kalam Nuru, Ziaur's uncle, told our Cox's Bazar correspondent that his nephew left home on September 20 for three months to attend Tabligi Jamaat, a non-political Islamic missionary movement.

Nuru alleged some plainclothes men identifying themselves as police picked him up from a mosque in Gopalganj's Tungipara on Friday. He was missing since then.

At least 15 alleged drug traders have been killed in Teknaf since OC Pradip was posted in the upazila.

In Kushtia, police claimed that alleged robber Khokon Ali alias Hatkata Thandu, 46, an accused in at least eight cases, was killed in a “gunfight” between two groups of robbers at Sadar upazila.

Nasir Uddin, OC of Kushtia Sadar police, said they found Khokon's body beside a road as they rushed to Mollahteghoria area around 3:00am upon hearing gunshots.

The police claimed to have recovered a firearm, two bombs and one bullet from the spot, our local correspondent reports.

Deceased's father Subarek Ali told reporters that his son Khokon had gone missing several days ago.

 “I heard that my son was killed in a gunfight this [yesterday] morning,” he said.