‘Yaba trader’ killed in ‘gunfight’ with Rab in Bangladesh

An alleged yaba trader was killed in a “gunfight” with Rapid Action Battalion at Patenga in Chittagong city early yesterday.

He is Zafar Ahmed, 30, son of Nur Mohammad in Anwara upazila's Badalpura village.

Zafar's family members alleged that Rab cooked up the “gunfight story” after picking him up on Saturday.

However, Rab refuted the allegation.

Miftah Uddin Ahmed, commanding officer of Rab-7, said Zafar was involved in yaba smuggling by sea.

Zafar was the “main accused” in a case filed in connection with the recovery of five lakh yaba pills from an engine-run fishing boat at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port on May 13.

Ahmed said one of their teams, during a regular patrol, found four people on two motorbikes moving suspiciously on Seabeach Road in Patenga around 1:00am yesterday.

When the team asked them to stop, they sped up their bikes instead and started to open fire on the crime busters, he claimed.

In retaliation, the Rab members fired back, triggering the “gunfight”.

At one stage, the smugglers fled.

Later, the Rab men found the bullet-hit body of Zafar on the spot.

Zafar was taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival, added the Rab official.

Rab claimed to have recovered 10,000 yaba tablets, two firearms, three bullets and two cartridges there. 

Zafar's family members claimed that he used to sell fishing nets at a shop in Sadarghat and he had a fishing boat.

“My husband was shot dead after being detained. There was no gunfight,” claimed Khurshida Begum, wife of the deceased, while weeping at the hospital morgue.

She said her husband left home for Dhaka around 11:00am on Saturday and was missing since then.