Cop among 3 hurt in gunfight

A policeman and two from a gang of muggers in a stolen car were wounded in a gunfight at Rupganj of Narayanganj early yesterday.
Injured Sub-inspector Khandokar Helaluddin of Shyampur Police Station and the two wounded criminals -- Abdul Halim, 30, and Zillur Rahman Zakir, 35 -- were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The two injured muggers are now under police custody.
Helaluddin was later taken to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation for his serious injuries. He was shot in the abdomen and both the left and right legs, while Zakir was hit in the right leg and Halim in the right hand.
SI Harunur Rashid, from the same police station, said they were tipped-off about the muggers roaming about in a stolen car in Shyampur since Monday. Following the lead the police team had positioned themselves to arrest the criminals at Arsalan area around 1:30am.
"They sped away defying our signals to stop. We then chased them to Tarabo of Rupganj, where they opened fire on us. We returned fire," said SI Harun.
The police team arrested Md Badsha, one of the muggers, and confiscated a cocktail and two knives from the hijacked car.
At his DMCH bed, Zakir told The Daily Star that their four-member gang was making rounds in the stolen car to mug people when the police intercepted them. Their leader Babu Miah, who had stolen the car, fled the scene as he shot the cops and threw cocktails at them.
"We tried to run away as driver Halim was shot. I was shot next when I tried to escape as the cops kept firing at us," he added.