Members of joint forces led by the Army's 10th Infantry Division are conducting a fresh drive in the hills of Teknaf upazila in Cox's Bazar district to dismantle hideouts of human trafficking gangs.
The operation began around 8 am on Saturday in the hilly areas of Leda- Rangikhali under Hnila Union of the upazila.
More than 150 personnel from the Army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police joined the operation.
Earlier, on Thursday afternoon, a joint force conducted a raid in the same remote hilly area, rescuing 57 people from a detention camp and arresting five alleged members of a human trafficking syndicate.
During the operation, gunfire was exchanged between the joint forces and the traffickers, leaving Army soldier Mohammad Titas Sheikh, 27, dead.
Reports also emerged in the media on Friday that three bodies were lying in the hills where the operation had been conducted.
Cox's Bazar Superintendent of Police ANM Sajedur Rahman said police received information about three bodies lying in the Rangikhali hills.
“However, the information cannot be confirmed until the bodies are recovered. We are working to determine whether there are actually any bodies at the location,” he said.
The joint operations would continue until the activities of the human trafficking networks were completely dismantled, he added.
Titas was buried with state honors at his village in Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur on Friday evening.
Meanwhile, the 57 rescued victims were handed over to their families on the premises of Teknaf Model Police Station on Friday.
Among them, six were Rohingya refugees, and 51 were Bangladeshi nationals.
Shahidul Islam, one of the rescued victims, told reporters that several people might have been killed during an exchange of gunfire between suspected traffickers and law enforcers.
However, he could not confirm whether the deceased were members of a human trafficking gang or victims who had escaped from the detention camp.
He said he had seen three bodies lying near the detention facility.
Statements from some of the rescued victims have also revealed how the trafficking gang lured people with false promises of employment before confining them in remote hill hideouts.
One of the victims, Asaduzzaman, said he was brought to Cox's Bazar with the promise of a job but was later held captive at a hideout in the hills.
He said he had spent eight days in captivity and unsuccessfully attempted to escape twice.
“More than 50 people were held at the detention camp, and the traffickers were preparing to send them abroad by sea. Armed men guarded the hideout in the hills, while the captives were deprived of their mobile phones and personal belongings,” he said.