A Rohingya man, suspected to be a robber, was killed allegedly in a gunfight with police in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar on Friday.
The deceased, Ozi Ullah, 30, was from Maungdaw in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and sheltered at Nayapara refugee camp in Teknaf.
Police say he was the nephew and second-in-command of Rohingya robber Zakir Ahmed.
The gunfight reportedly took place in Habirchhara area in Teknaf Sadar at around 4pm on Friday, Teknaf police station OC Pradip Kumar Das confirmed.
Police also detained three other robbers, and recovered two army jackets, RAB uniforms, uniforms of Myanmar’s BGP, three light machine guns, one foreign-made pistol, 2,200 yaba pills and ammunition, he added.
The OC said police received a tip off that a group of Rohingya robbers were staying on a hill in Habirchhara, and a team led by Inspector (investigation) ABMS Doha conducted a drive in the area.
“When the robbers noticed the police team there, they opened fire. The policemen fired back. The robbers retreated after a while, and police rescued a severely wounded Ozi. Three policemen including Inspector Doha were injured as well.
Police sent Ozi to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex, but he was moved to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital as his condition was critical, said Dr Naima Sifat of the health complex emergency room.
Ozi succumbed to his injuries around 5:30pm, OC Pradip said.
His body was sent to the morgue for an autopsy. Police were preparing to file a case regarding this incident, when this report was filed at 8pm on Friday.