Myanmar man among 6 killed in 'shootouts'

A murder suspect, an alleged robber and four alleged drug peddlers were killed in separate “gunfights” with law enforcers and BGB men in five districts yesterday.

The dead are Hazrat Ali of Dhaka; Bellal Hossain, 25, of Laxmipur; Al-Amin, 38, Cumilla; Abdur Rashid, 50, of Mymensingh; Masud Rana 35, of Khulna; and Nurul Alam, 34, of Myanmar.

Maj Mehedi Hasan, company commander of Cox's Bazar Rab, said the Myanmar citizen Nurul was accused in a case filed over the murder of Ansar barrack commander Ali Hossain in Teknaf's Nayapara Shalban Rohingya camp.

A group of criminals murdered Ali on May 13, 2016 and a looted two MSGs, five Chinese rifles, four shotguns and 670 bullets, Mehedi said, adding Nurul was one of the suspects in the case and had been untraceable since then.

Acting on a tip-off, BGB raided Damdamia area of the district where Nurul was killed in a “gunfight”, Mehedi added.

The body was taken to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital for autopsy.

Rab claimed to have recovered two pistols, two magazines and 13 bullets from the spot.

Pradip Kumar Das, officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station, said they filed a case.

Meanwhile, an alleged drug peddler -- Billal -- was killed in a “gunfight” with BGB men, claimed Lt Col Achhadud-Jaman Chowdhury, director of BGB-2 in Teknaf.

BGB earlier detained Bellal with yaba from the Moricha Checkpost of the district on Thrusday evening, he added.

BGB claimed to have recovered 9,000 yaba pills from the spot.

In Khulna's Nirala Dighirpar area, an alleged drug peddler -- Masud -- was killed in a “gunfight” with police, claimed Sheikh Moniruzzaman Mithu, additional deputy commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police.

Police claimed to have recovered a pipe gun, 100 yaba tablets and a sharp weapon from the spot.

In Mymensingh, alleged drug peddler -- Rashid -- was killed in a “gunfight” with police during a drive in the city's Trishal Bus Stand area.

Shah Kamal Akanda, officer-in-charge of Detective Branch of police in Mymensingh, claimed Rashid sustained bullet injury during the “gunfight”.

Later, when he was taken to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, doctors declared him dead, Akanda said.

Police claimed to have recovered 100 grams of heroin .

Two police constables -- Noor Mohammad, 35, and Ziaul Haque, 36 -- were also injured during the “gunfight”, the law enforcers claimed.

However, family of the dead denied the allegation and said Rashid was not involved in drug trade and demanded investigation into the “killing”.

In Cumilla, an alleged robber -- Al-Amin -- was killed in a “gunfight” with police on Thursday.

He was accused of robbing Tk 58 lakh from a bKash agent.

Police claimed to have recovered about Tk15 lakh from the spot.

Sub-Inspector of DB of Cumilla Sahidul Islam said to recover the rest of the money, they led a drive in Darikandi area where some robbers tried to snatch the accused from their custody.

Police retaliate after robbers opened fire at them. Al-Amin was declared dead after being taken to Comilla Medical College Hospital. Police recovered a pistol with two round bullets from the spot.

In Dhaka's Jatrabari, a suspected drug dealer Hazrat Ali was killed in a ”gunfight” with police, claimed the law enforcers.

With this, at least 298 drug dealers and peddlers were killed in such “shootouts” with law enforcement agencies since the anti-narcotics crackdown started from May last year.

[Our Cox's Bazar, Cumilla, Khulna and Mymensingh correspondents contributed to this report.]