13-year-old shot dead in gunfight

A 13-year-old boy was shot dead during a gunfight between the Border Guard Battalion (BGB) and smugglers in Sonaton Punji area in Sylhet's Kanaighat upazila on Monday.

The dead was identified as Siraj Ahmed, son of Abdul Motalib, of the same area.

Major Mesbah Uddin Russel, additional director (operations) of the BGB in Sylhet, said, “A team of 19 BGB officials seized some smuggled goods from the border area. While returning around 7:00pm, some miscreants attacked them with guns, sharp weapons, stones and bricks.”

“For self defence, the force also opened fire. During the shootout, a boy was shot and he died on the spot,” Mesbah said, adding that the gunshot which hit the boy was not fired by the BGB and they did not know whether the teenager was involved in the crime.

At least four law enforcers were also injured in the incident, he said.

“Three of the four BGB men who were injured during the attack have been sent to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital,” Mesbah added.

Quoting locals, Abdul Ahad, officer-in-charge of Kanaighat Police Station, said that the boy was a pedestrian and, as far as he knew, was not involved in smuggling.

“Police recovered the body of the teenager and sent it to MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for autopsy", he said, adding that a case was yet to be filed in this regard.