Shot during raid, inspector dies
“My Jalal left me without saying anything; my Jalal built this house for me.”
Ayesha Khatun was wailing, holding a photo of her son at her house in Kaliganj, Jhenidah.
She is the mother of Md Jalal Uddin, an inspector of Detective Branch of DMP, who was shot by armed criminals in the capital's Pirerbagh around Monday midnight.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Jalal was hit in the head when he went to a house for recce during a raid.
Police sources said a 10-member DB team surrounded a three-storey building near Pirerbagh's Alim Uddin School around midnight on information that armed criminals were holed up there.
An official present during the drive said Jalal climbed to the second-floor sunshade of the under-construction building.
The criminals, who were reportedly taking yaba on the roof, sensed police presence and started firing at Jalal, the official said, requesting anonymity.
“Jalal shouted for help but no one was able to rescue him for 20 minutes. He was hanging between two buildings and the criminals were firing continuously,” he claimed, adding that the DB team eventually stormed the house and rescued him.
The criminals managed to flee.
Jalal was taken to Square Hospitals where he was declared dead at 12:45am, Achinta Chakrabarti, customer service officer of the hospital, told The Daily Star.
Profuse bleeding from the wound caused his death, according to Dhaka Medical College morgue sources.
Following the incident at Pirerbagh, a SWAT team swept the area and detained the wife, mother, sister, and brother-in-law of the suspect who reportedly shot Jalal, said a police official.
Police said the DB team was investigating theft of DMP firearms.
On January 11, unidentified criminals broke into the house of DMP traffic sergeants Mamunur Rashid and Sohel Rana and took two pistols, 16 bullets, two magazines, and two mobile phones.
Two days ago, the investigators discovered that one of the stolen phones was in service and detained one Mainuddin in this connection. The suspect named Hasan Ali, who lives in the Pirerbagh building, as the person who gave him the phone.
Police sources claimed that Hasan was involved in petty crimes, like mugging and theft in Pirerbagh area. Hasan and his accomplice Manik Mia was on the roof during the raid.
Locals said Hasan had been arrested several times.
During a spot visit, this correspondent learnt that Hasan had rented two rooms on the roof four months ago and had been living with his wife and two children.
His neighbours said he claimed to be a trader of recycled goods.
House owner Helal Uddin was killed in a gunfight between two criminal groups about eight years ago and his daughter Liza was looking after the building, the neighbours said.
Nur Alam, a caretaker of an adjacent building, said he first heard two gunshots around midnight on Monday and later more than a dozen.
After the funeral at the Rajarbagh Police Lines yesterday afternoon, IGP Mohammad Javed Patwary said they would provide all support to Jalal's family as he sacrificed his life serving the country.
Jalal received the President Police Medal in 2013 for his service.
Hailing from Jhenidah's Kaliganj, he used to live with his wife Mina Parveen and their children Jannatul Ferdous Tripti and Farhana Afroze Turza in the capital's Sabujbagh area.
He joined Bangladesh Police as a constable in 1989 and was promoted to inspector on September 9, 2017. He was recently transferred to the DB of DMP West division.
His body will be taken to his ancestral home, the family said.
Jalal was the third among five brothers and sisters.
[Our Jhenidah correspondent contributed to this report]
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