Two ‘robbers’ killed in ‘gunfight’

Two suspected robbers were killed in a "gunfight" between two dacoit groups in Sadar upazila of Magura early yesterday, said police.

The dead are Lablu Mondol, 38, of Faridpur, and Daul Hossain, 35, of Magura, said the law enforcers.

Saiful Islam, officer-in-charge of Magura Sadar Police Station, claimed two groups of armed robbers locked into a "gunfight" around 1:30am following feud over establishing supremacy in the area.

Hearing gunshots, a patrol team of police rushed to the spot and found two bodies lying on the ground. They recovered the bodies and sent those to Magura Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsies. Rest of the "robbers" managed to flee the scene, he added.

According to the OC, both the dead were accused in several cases filed with different police stations in Magura, Narail, Jashore, Rajbari and Faridpur districts.

The Daily Star, however, could not independently verify the police claims.

Meanwhile, Lablu's uncle Gulzar Mondol said they heard of Lablu's arrest.

He said, "We heard he was taken to Baliakandi Police Station. Hearing the news, we went there on Tuesday morning, but the on-duty police officers told us that nobody named Lablu was in their custody.

"We then returned home and kept trying to find Lablu. This morning we came to know that he was killed in gunfight" he added. 

Contacted, AKM Azmol Huda, officer-in-charge of Baliakandi Police Station, denied the allegation.

He, however, said the wives of two dead robbers were arrested in Dhaka over a robbery case that was filed on January 24.

Police found robbed materials from them, he added.

Mucha Mollah, elder brother of Daud, told The Daily Star, "He [Daud] left our house three years ago. Suddenly, we came to know through villagers that he was killed in a gunfight this morning. I went to Magura and received his body."

Our Jhenaidah and Faridpur correspondents contributed to the report.