2 ‘robbers’ killed in ‘gunfights’

Two alleged robbers, including a Rohingya, were killed in “gunfights” with law enforcers in Cox’s Bazar and Cumilla early yesterday.

In Cox’s Bazar, Nurul Amin, 43, was killed in a “shootout” between robbers and Rapid Action Battalion members at Pashchim Leda Nurai para in Teknaf upazila around 3:00am, said Lt Mirza Shahed Mahtab, camp commander of Rab-15 in Teknaf.  

Nurul used to live in  4Leda Rohingya camp, he said.

Two firearms, four bullet shells, a mobile phone, and four SIMs of mobile phone carriers in Myanmar were recovered from the spot, the Rab official claimed.

The robbers opened fire when a Rab team, acting on a tip-off, conducted a raid at their den in a hill, said the camp commander.

The Rab members retaliated, triggering the “gunfight”, he added.

After the “gun battle”, the Rab members found bullet-hit Nurul lying on the spot and sent him to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex, where he died later.

In the incident, two Rab members were injured. They took first aid at the upazila health complex.

In Cumilla, a suspected robber was killed in a similar incident with police at Paschim Singho in Burichang upazila around 2:00am, said Mozammel Haq, officer-in-charge of Burichang Police Station.

Mazarul Islam, 35, of Debidwar upazila, was a highway robber who was involved in the killings of two businessmen that took place on Cumilla-Sylhet highway at Kangsonagar in Burichang and on Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Chandina recently, the OC said.

The “gunfight” took place when Burichang police raided Pashchim Singho area on information that some robbers were preparing for committing a robbery, the police official added.

At one stage, Mazarul was hit. He was rushed to Cumilla Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead, he added.

The OC said six police members, including Inspector Nityananda Saha, were hurt and they took primary treatment at the hospital.

Our Cox’s Bazar and Cumilla correspondents contributed to this report.