BRDB official shot dead, wife injured

Armed criminals shot dead an official of Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) in Manikchhari of Khagrachhari yesterday.
The victim, Alo Baran Chakma, 35, of Manikchhari Bazar area, was the field inspector of Laxmichhari upazila BRDB office. His wife Sujata Chakma, field assistant at the same office, also received bullet in the right hand.
Locals admitted her to Manikchhari Upazila Health Complex and later she was referred to Chittagong Medical College Hospital for better treatment, said duty doctor at the health complex Mohammad Mohiuddin.
About eight to ten armed criminals sprayed bullets on the couple in Rangapani Adarshagram area, about seven kilometres from Manikchhari upazila town, yesterday morning when they were going to their workplace leaving Alo Baran dead on the spot and his wife injured, said Officer-in-Charge Kesab Chakraborty of Manikchhari Police Station.
The body was handed over to his relatives after an autopsy at Khagrachhari Modern Sadar Hospital. Filing of a case was underway, the OC added.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (Ramgarh Circle) Mohammad Shajahan said the reason behind the attack could not be known immediately.
Police suspect that Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) or United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) might be involved in the incident.
Contacted, Dhiman Chakma, convener of PCJSS Laxmichhari upazila unit, blamed the armed cadres of UPDF for launching the preplanned attack while Niron Chakma, press and information secretary of the UPDF, blamed the PCJSS for the killing.