Suspected ‘yaba trader’ from Rohingya camp killed in alleged gunfight with BGB

A Rohingya man suspected to be a yaba trader was killed in an alleged gunfight with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Naikhyangchhari upazila of Bandarban early today.

The deceased was identified as Md Abdur Rahim (25) of Kutupalong Rohingya camp, said Lieutenant Colonel Ali Haider Azad Ahmed, commanding officer (CO) of BGB-34 battalion.

BGB men also seized 50,000 pieces of yaba pills, one hand-made pipe gun, and four fresh cartridges from the scene.

The gunfight took place at Dakhin Baishfari around 3:45am when a patrol team of BGB members saw a group of eight to ten people entering Bangladesh from a hilly area of Myanmar, BGB said in a press release.

When the BGB men asked them to stop and identify themselves, they opened fire at the paramilitary force, prompting retaliation and triggering a gunfight, the release adds.

At one stage, the alleged criminals fled the scene. Later, the BGB troops found an injured man at the spot and took him to Ukhia Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared him dead, the press release added.

Two BGB members who also sustained injuries during the gunfight have taken primary treatment from the hospital, the release said.