Six poachers of tiger have been killed in a “gunfight” with police in Mandarbaria Khal area of Sundarbans under Koyra upazila of Khulna.
Koyra OC Harendranath Sarkar confirmed the deaths to the Dhaka Tribune.
The deceased are Ansar Sana, 55, Siddique Sana, 45, Bappi Hossain, 20, Rafiqul Islam, 38, Majid Gazi, 35, and Mamun Gazi 25.
The OC said a team of Koira police arrested the nine alleged poachers of tigers from different areas of the district early Sunday.
In a bid to recover tiger hides and firearms, the police team took six detainees out of nine to Mandarbari Khal area of Sundarbans around 3pm.
Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, the cohorts of the poachers opened fire on them. In retaliation, police also opened fire that triggered a gunfight, claimed the OC.
After the gunfight, six poachers of tiger were found dead on the spot. However, the other associates managed to flee the scene.
Five policemen were also injured in the gunfight, said Sarkar.
The police team recovered four foreign-made guns, one pistol and three pieces of tigers’ hide from the spot.