A suspected arsonist was claimed to have died in a gunfight with police at Jatrabari early yesterday while the bullet-hit body of another man was also recovered from Mirpur.
The “shootout” victim was Rasel Sardar, 28, who lived in Fatullah of Narayanganj and worked at a mobile repair shop in south Keraniganj.
Police said detectives fired at some miscreants who hurled a petrol bomb at a truck in Matuail area around 4:30am.
“The arsonists also fired at police, triggering a gun battle. Rasel’s body was recovered from the scene when the other miscreants fled,” said Mosharaf Hossain, sub-inspector of Jatrabari police station.
He said three petrol bombs and a gun were recovered from the spot.
The body was sent to Dhaka Medical College morgue for autopsy where the victim’s brother, Akash, identified him in the afternoon.
Akash said Rasel hailed from Barisal and got married six months ago.
“He remained missing since February 5 when he went out in the afternoon and said he would come back soon. We went to a number of police stations in Old Dhaka but could not find any information about his whereabouts,” he said.
Claiming Rasel innocent, his wife Shefali Begum told reporters that her husband had no connection with any political party.
Shefali, who works at a private firm, said: “My husband had been working at the mobile repair shop for the last two years, and would only get Tk2,000 every month. That is why I took a job to support the family.”
But Deputy Commissioner of the Detective Branch of police Jahangir Hossain Matubbar said Rasel was one of those who hurled a petrol bomb at a bus in Jatrabari last month. “Two accused confessed to having link with the arson attack and they mentioned Rasel’s name,” he said.
In the cases filed in connection with the attack, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and some other BNP leaders were accused. Khaleda was accused of aiding and abetting the crime.
Also on last Wednesday, two youths were killed in a “gunfight” with RAB in Katherpool area, and they were claimed to be involved with the Jatrabari arson attack.
The attack, made on a bus of Glory Paribahan on January 23, left at least 23 passengers with burn injuries. One of them later died during treatment at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Unidentified man’s body recovered
Police recovered the body of an unidentified youth from Mirpur’s Kalshi area around 6:45am.
They also found 14 crude bombs and petrol bombs beside his body.
Atiqur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Dhaka Cantonment police station, said the body was found near an automobile workshop not very far from Kalshi bridge.
Dhaka Medical College morgue sources said there was blood inside the man’s mouth and also a bullet injury above the right ear.
More than 20 people have died in “gunfights” with law enforcement officials across the country since January 5, with 10 killed in the capital.
Four of the dead were BNP activists while eight were that of Jamaat-e-Islami and Chhatra Shibir, according to family members.
Police meanwhile claimed that six of the “gunfight” victims were robbers.
