Three people have been killed in separate ‘gunfights’ with Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) forces in Cox’s Bazar.
Two suspected illegal narcotics dealers have been killed in a so called gunfight with the RAB in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar. The incident occurred in early hours of Tuesday.
The deceased are Ashique Jahangir, 32, hailing from Mymensingh and Md Arif Hossain, 30, hailing from Narayanganj. RAB identified the duo by checking their driving license and voter ID card respectively.
RAB 7 Teknaf (CPC 2) Company Commander Lt Mirza Shahed confirmed the matter to the Dhaka Tribune, saying: “RAB received a tip off that a truck, carrying large number of yaba tablets, has left Teknaf.
“RAB 7 erected a barricade on the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Highway in the Keruntoli area. The truck was signaled to stop, but culprits inside the vehicle began firing on the RAB team, forcing them to retaliate.”
Lt Mirza continued: “The truck stopped after a gunfight, and bullet riddled bodies of two men were found inside it. They were taken to Teknaf Hospital, where the on-duty doctor declared them dead on arrival.”
RAB 7 also seized 100,000 yaba tablets, two firearms, eight bullets and a truck from the spot.
In a separate incident, a suspected pirate was killed in a reported gunfight with Rab in Kutubdia Dwip around 4am.
The deceased, Deedarul Islam, 32, was a resident of Uttar Amjakhali and one of the listed pirates under the Home Ministry and Prime Minister’s office, reports UNB.
On a tip off that a gang of pirates was preparing for robbery, a team of RAB conducteda drive in the area, said Rab-7 company commander Major Mahedi Hasan.
Sensing the presence of the elite force, the gang members opened fire, forcing them to return fire, triggering the gunfight.
After the brief gunfight, they recovered the bullet-riddled body of Deedarul. RAB also seized huge cache of firearms and ammunition from the spot.