Questions rise after ‘shootout’
A suspected drug dealer was killed and two others, including a woman, were shot in the legs during what Rab said was a shootout in the capital’s Malibagh area yesterday morning.
Syed Iqbal Ahmed, 42, who was shot dead, used to bring yaba pills to the city from Cox’s Bazar, claimed Rab-2 Company Commander Mohammed Mohiuddin Faruqe.
The incident happened around 7:00am near the ticket sales centre of an intercity bus operator. The area is covered by CCTV cameras of different nearby shops and businesses.
Employees of these shops told this correspondent yesterday afternoon that Rab officials had deleted the footage and didn’t let anyone see what had been recorded.
This correspondent visited the place in the afternoon and saw that the spot had been washed with water.
The two others shot are Rafika Jasmin, 29, and her brother Mashnur Hasan, 22. They were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with bullet wounds in their legs.
Rab said Rafika was Iqbal’s wife and her brother Hasan was a private university student. They are also suspected drug traffickers.
According to Mohiuddin, Rab officers were waiting there after being tipped off about a man arriving from Cox’s Bazar with a yaba haul.
After the bus arrived and the other passengers had left, Iqbal was waiting there with at least 12 bags, Mohiuddin said.
Around 15 minutes later, two cars arrived apparently to pick up Iqbal.
As Rafika and Hasan got off the cars and started to put Iqbal’s bags into the cars, Rab members cordoned off the area.
Sensing their presence, Iqbal started to shoot at the Rab members who then retaliated, the officer added.
The suspects were shot in the resulting “gunfight”.
They all were taken to the DMCH where doctors declared Iqbal dead.
Mohiuddin claimed that three Rab men were injured.
The company commander also said Rab had collected the footage from the shops for investigation.
Rab claimed to have recovered one lakh yaba pills, Tk 1.80 lakh in cash, and a pistol from the scene.
A shopkeeper of the area said, “We were inside the shop and just heard seven or eight gunshots… We are not allowed to see the footage.”
Meanwhile, Rab officials have kept the injured suspects under strict surveillance at the DMCH. Journalists were not allowed to talk to them.
Iqbal’s relatives identified him at the DMCH morgue. They said that they didn’t know if Iqbal and Rafika were married because he was already married.
A woman at the DMCH named Shamim Ara Sharmin claimed that she was Iqbal’s wife. But they had broken up and hardly ever communicated with each other. However, they talked to each other on Thursday.
Iqbal’s brother said, “I know my brother ran a business in Chattogram. I do not know what he actually did.”
Iqbal was accused in at least six drugs cases, Rab claimed.
In the last three weeks, Rafika sent around Tk 1.5 crore to Iqbal through banks and other means, Mohiuddin said.
Later in the day, Rab officials raided Iqbal’s flat in Adabar and recovered 10,000 yaba pills and Tk 4 lakh in cash, Mohiuddin said.
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