Man killed in 'gunfight'
Family claims he was in DB custody
A man was killed in a “gunfight” with detectives in the city's Bhashantek area early yesterday, four days after he was called out from his Ashulia house allegedly by a criminal gang.
Deceased Sohel Sheikh, 30, was on bail in a murder case after spending several years behind bars. Last week, he was named in the murder case of alleged criminal Chiku Jamal of Bhashantek.
Sohel's family members alleged that suspected criminal “DSP Babu” called him out from his home on Thursday to talk about the gun attack on Chiku.
Sohel phoned his sister Minara Akter early Friday to inform her that he was in the custody of the Detective Brach of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
“My brother called from his mobile phone and asked us not to worry about him. The conversation lasted for only a few seconds,” Minara told The Daily Star.
Talking to this correspondent at his house at Bhashantek slum, Sohel's father Manju Sheikh alleged that DB officials “cooked up the story of shootout after killing his son in custody”.
DB FILES CASE
DB Sub-Inspector Mofidul Islam Akanda filed a case with Bhashantek Police Station following the “shootout” incident.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) of the case, a team of detectives, led by Senior Assistant Commissioner Shahadat Hossain, rushed near Lohar Bridge area around 1:30am on Monday on information that five to six unidentified men were moving around suspiciously.
“They fired shots indiscriminately at us, forcing us to retaliate in self-defence and protection of state property,” Mofidul said in the FIR.
Later, Sohel was found injured by bullets at the spot. However, his cohorts managed to flee the scene.
Doctors at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) declared Sohel dead around 3:00am, police said.
Law enforcers claimed to have recovered three firearms and seven bullets from the spot.
The plaintiff in the case statement said the criminal group fired 20-25 shots while police fired 17. He identified Sohel as one of the “killers” of a criminal gang, led by Ibrahim, from Bhashantek.
Sohel along with Rony, Babu, Shamim and others allegedly shot Chiku Jamal on April 11 in Bhashantek area, leaving him injured. Chiku died of his wounds at the DMCH on Saturday, added the case statement.
Sohel's wife Shantona Akter Jhuma, a garment worker, said they moved to Ashulia from Bhashantek as Sohel wanted to lead a normal life after coming out of jail around a year ago.
Bhashantek police sent the body to the Dhaka Medical College morgue for an autopsy.