10 hurt as police, gamblers lock in hour-long clash

A group of people get engaged in gambling at Namuri village of Aditmari upazila in Lalmonirhat district that sees large-scale arrangement of the illegal act, often under the nose of law enforcers. PHOTO: STAR

A police constable and nine alleged gamblers were injured in an hour-long clash between law enforcers and gamblers at Basuria village of Barobari union in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila on Tuesday night.
Following order of the superintendent of police, Mosabberul Haque, OC of Lalmonirhat Detective Branch (DB) of police, conducted the raid with a team of plain-clothes DB policemen in the village to arrest the gamblers at around 11:30pm on Tuesday.
"But an organised group of gambles numbering over 150 led by Dulal Hossain attacked the law enforcers. As police charged baton, the gamblers turned more furious and finally police fired at least 31 rounds of rubber bullets on the spot to save themselves," said OC Mosabberul Haque.
Injured during the clash, police constable Saiful Islam was admitted to Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital but the rubber bullet-hit gamblers did not take admission in the hospital to evade arrest, he said.
Police arrested gambler Khairul Islam, 44, son of Mazibor Rahman of Shibram village at Barobari union in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila and seized five bottles of foreign wines and some gambling accessories from his possession, said the DB official.
"During the last couple of nights, gambling was arranged at around 40 spots in the village where many gamblers from different areas, even from neighbouring Kurigram and Rangpur districts, took part. We conducted the anti-gambling drive without informing the local police station due to understandable reasons,” he said.
Some identified people continued arranging gambling in the village for around a month but local police did not take any action despite filing of several complaints as huge bribery is involved in the matter, locals said.
A gambler seeking anonymity said, cops of Lalmonirhat Sadar police station receive Tk 50 thousand from Dulal Hossain, 'team leader' of gamblers, for gambling at Basuria village every night.
Lalmonirhat Superintendent of Police Habibur Rahman said, "We are always zero tolerant about gambling and drug abuse. Police will arrest all the gamblers who were involved in attacking the law enforcers and stop gambling in the district. Departmental action will be taken if any policeman is found guilty in this regard."