A suspected drug peddler and rapist were killed in separate “gunfights” with law enforcement agencies in Dhaka and Mymensingh on Tuesday
A suspected drug peddler was killed in a reported gunfight with Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Dhaka. The incident occurred in Uttarkhan’s Shaheed Nagar area around 2am on Tuesday.
The deceased is Anwar Hossain, 28, a resident of Greater Dhaka’s Dakshinkhan, but from Kishoreganj district.
RAB 1 CPC 1 Squad Commander ASP Md Kamruzzaman told Dhaka Tribune that Anwar was accused in at least 18 cases, including drug smuggling.
“Acting on a tip-off, a RAB patrol team went to the area when they came to know that a group of drug peddlers were gathering there,” he said.
“When they reached the spot, the smugglers opened fire on the team. RAB fired back in self-defense. After 10 minutes, a man was found with bullet injuries while others managed to flee.”
The RAB official said Anwar was rescued and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where the on-duty doctor declared him dead.
Some 3,000 yaba pills, a shotgun, and six cartridges were recovered from the scene.
In Mymensingh, Saiful Dakat, son of late Javed Ali of Koiadi village in Bhaluka upazila, was killed in a reported “gunfight” with police around 1:15am on Tuesday.
The deceased was accused in a case filed for the gang-rape of an eighth grader in the upazila.
Shah Kamal Akanda, officer-in-charge of the Detective Branch (DB) of police, said a joint DB and Bhaluka police station team conducted a drive in the Hatiber area to arrest the gang-rape accused around 1am, following a tip-off.
When the joint team reached the location, a group of criminals opened fire on law enforcement, forcing them to shoot back in self defence, the OC added.
Saiful was shot in the incident, and doctors pronounced him dead when police took him to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.
A pipe gun and three knives were recovered from the site of the gunfight, the police official said.
An eighth grade girl was gang-raped in Koiadi village on June 16, and a case was filed for the incident on June 26.
At least 204 people became victims of extrajudicial killings at the hands of law enforcement agencies across Bangladesh in the first six months of 2019, human rights watchdog Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) said.
According to ASK, the victims of “extrajudicial killings” include 59 who were killed in “gunfights” with RAB, 92 with police, 12 with the Detective Branch of police, one with joint forces, one with the Coast Guard, and 28 with Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB).