Drug war on, 'yaba trader' found dead

Police recovered the bullet-hit body of a man in Damurhuda upazila of Chuadanga yesterday, two days after he had allegedly been picked up by plainclothes men.

The law enforcers claimed that the dead, Hridoy Hossain, 28, of Hothatpara area of the district, was a drug trader and he might have been killed in an infighting of drug traders.

The Daily Star could not verify this claim.

With Hridoy, at least 152 people, who according to law enforcers were either drug dealers or peddlers, have been killed in so-called shootouts, amid the ongoing nationwide anti-narcotics drive. Most of the “gunfights” involved Rab and police. 

Sukumar Biswas, officer-in-charge of Damurhuda Model Police Station, said on being informed by locals, they recovered the body from a roadside ditch near Darshana Rail Crossing around 11:30am.

The body had marks of four bullet wounds, he said, adding, “It seems Hridoy was killed in an infighting of drug traders”

“We are investigating”.

The OC claimed that Hridoy was a listed Yaba trader and was accused in 14 cases, including ones related to narcotics and mugging.

Quoting witnesses, Hridoy's father Bachchu Mia, however, told journalists at Chuadanga Sadar Hospital that four plainclothes men had picked up his son from a tea stall in Shantipara area of the upazila on Tuesday evening.

He had been traceless since then, he said.

Bachchu went to Damurhuda Police Station on Wednesday morning but police could not give him the whereabouts of his son, he claimed.

Hridoy's mother Shirina Khatun said her son had been involved in drug trade but he quit it two years ago.

Kamal Hossain, sub-inspector of Detective Branch (DB) in Chuadanga, said he was not aware of the incident.

DRIVE IN DHAKA

Meanwhile, 24 people were arrested by police in an anti-narcotics drive in Kotwali area of the capital yesterday.

Several hundred policemen, along with members of the Detective Branch (DB) of police, a special armed force and a dog squad, conducted the two-hour drive in Rajar Dewri, Shakhari Bazar and Sweeper Colony areas from 11:00am, said Ibrahim Khan, deputy commissioner (Lalbagh Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Police claimed to have recovered 205 yaba tablets, 6.5kg marijuana, 50 litres of locally-made alcohol and 2,500 small packets of heroin in the raid.