A suspected mugger has been killed while another detained in a reported gunfight with the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Dhaka.
The incident occurred in the Hatirpool area, Dhaka in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The deceased, Shushan Mitra, 42, was a top-ranking criminal, RAB said.
The detainee was identified as Hasan. There was a third suspect who fled the scene, they added.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, RAB 2 Commander Mohiuddin Faruqi said his team was patrolling the area when they heard screaming in front of the LabAid Hospital in Hatirpool.
Reaching the spot, they found a man who had been mugged.
“Asking the person, we learnt that three muggers on a motorbike snatched his bag away. We rushed to apprehend the muggers,” Faruqi said.
As the RAB team caught up with the suspects, one of them managed to escape the law enforcement officials.
“I jumped on the one on the motorbike [Hasan] and caught him. Then I noticed the other suspect [Shushan], who had been detained by another RAB official, was trying to bring out a firearm. I did not waste time and shot him,” Faruqi said.
The injured suspects were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where the doctors on duty pronounced Shushan dead.
During the scuffle, Faruqi along with ASI Suresh and RAB personnel Bidhan received minor injuries.
Faruqi told Dhaka Tribune that RAB had been patrolling some areas in Dhaka during the night after receiving a series of complaints about mugging.
They are regularly monitoring different areas such as Newmarket, Tejgaon, Hatirpool and Kallyanpur, he added.
