Robber killed in 'gunfight' with police

A leader of a robber gang was killed in a “gunfight” with police in the district's Kalia upazila early yesterday.
The dead, Sekendar Ali Sarder alias Seken Sarder, was son of late Abdur Rahim Sarder of Harishpur village.
Matiur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Kalia Police Station, said Sekendar stood accused in five criminal cases, including robbery and killing.
Police detained him on Wednesday evening from his village.
As per his confessional statement, police along with Sekendar went to Bijoynagar village to recover firearms early Thursday. They got a pipe gun, a shutter gun and seven bullets there, the police official said.
When the law enforcers along with Sekendar were returning to the police station around 3:00am, Sekendar's aides opened fire on police to free Sekendar. Police also returned fire, triggering a “gunfight” between them and the criminals.
Sekendar was hit by bullets while trying to flee. His accomplices managed to escape. Sekendar was taken to Kalia Upazila Health Complex where on-duty doctors declared him dead, the OC added.
Despite repeated attempts over the phone, this correspondent could not contact the family of the deceased for comments.