'Shootouts':'Drug dealer', PBCP leader shot dead
Two suspected criminals, including an alleged drug dealer, were killed in separate “gunfights” with law enforcers in Mymensingh and Tangail early yesterday.
In Mymensingh's incident, the dead was identified as Sabbir Hossain Payel, 26, who was an accused in 11 cases, mostly for drugs, police sources said.
Shah Kamal Akanda, officer-in-charge (OC) of the detective branch of police (DB) in Mymensingh, said the shootout took place when a police team, upon receiving information of an on-going drug trade, raided Purahitpara area in Mymensingh town around 1:15am.
As police arrived in the area, the drug dealers sensed their presence and began shooting at the law enforcers. When police retaliated, one of the criminals was left with bullet wounds while the others fled, he added.
Payel was rushed to a local hospital where he was declared dead.
Sources from Payel's family said he was sent to jail in a drug case around one and half years ago and was bailed out on September 25 of this year.
Police claimed to have recovered 100 yaba pills and 100 grams of heroin from the spot.
Payel's family alleged that police had picked up Payel earlier and cooked up the story of a shootout after killing him. Police, however, denied the allegations.
Payel's family has also claimed that Payel was not a drug dealer but was, however, once addicted to drugs.
“My son was never involved with drug dealing, but he used to take drugs before,” said Payel's mother Parul Begum.
Parul said she learned from local witnesses about plainclothes men picking her son up from Digarkanda by-pass area on Sunday afternoon.
Earlier in May, Payel's cousin, Rajon Mia, was killed in a similar “shootout” with police, his family said, adding that they demand fair investigation into the killing.
With Payel, at least 240 suspected drug peddlers and dealers have been killed since the anti-narcotics drive began on May 4. Most of them were killed in so-called shootouts involving police or Rab.
PBCP LEADER KILLED
A Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) leader was killed in a so-called gunfight with Rab in Tangail Sadar upazila.
The dead was identified as Sharif alias Farhad, 33, son of late Chan Miah of the upazila.
Major Rabiul Islam, a company commander of Rab-12, said the incident took place at Dainna Chowdhury Madhyapara area around 2:00am when criminals opened fire at Rab men who retaliated, leaving Sharif with bullet wounds.
He was taken to a local hospital where doctors declared him dead, Maj Rabiul said, adding that they recovered a pistol and four bullets from the spot.
Sharif was the regional commander of PBCP (ML/Red Flag) and was accused in five criminal cases, including for robbery and murder, Rab sources said.
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