'Outlaw' killed in 'shootout'
A regional leader of outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party was killed in a “shootout” with police in Damurhuda upazila of Chuadanga early yesterday.
The dead, Abul Kashem alias Mekur Kashem, 35, was son of Juran Ali of Boalmari under Mujibnagar upazila in Meherpur.
He was the regional commander of Meherpur of the party and one of the most wanted criminals, said Kamruzzaman, assistant superintendent of police of Chuadanga.
Two policemen sustained splinter injuries as the PBCP men hurled crude bombs at police during the “gunfight”, reports our Kushtia correspondent, quoting police.
Kamruzzaman said a team of Damurhuda Police Station surrounded a mango orchard at Jagannathpur village in Damurhuda upazila around 4:00am on information that Kashem was holding a secret meeting with his cohorts there.
Sensing the presence of law enforcers, the associates of Kashem threw bombs at the police personnel, triggering the “gunfight” between police and Kashem's men, he said.
Kashem was caught in the line of fire and died on the spot. However, the others managed to flee the scene, the police official added.
After the “gunfight", police recovered a gun, five bullets and four handmade bombs from the scene.
Injured policemen -- Assistant Sub-inspector of Damurhuda Police Station Niaz Ali and constable Khairul Islam -- were undergoing treatment at Damurhuda Upazila Health Complex.
Kashem was accused in over a dozen cases for extortion, murder and abduction filed with Mujibnagar and Damurhuda police stations.
For the last several months, he used to extort money from the brick kiln owners in Mujibnagar of Meherpur and Alamdanga and Damurhuda upazilas of Chuadanga, police said.
According to Ain o Salish Kendra, a human rights body, 49 incidents of extra-judicial killings have taken place in the country in the first two months of 2014.
Five people, including Kashem, have so far been killed in “shootouts” this month, according to The Daily Star reports.
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