'Thief' killed in 'shootout'

A young man was killed in a "shootout" with police in Magura early yesterday, a day after he was arrested on charge of stealing a police firearm.
The dead, Raju Biswas, 25, was arrested on Saturday from his village home in Harishpur of the district's Shalikha upazila, said Biplob Kumar Nath, officer-in-charge of Shalikha Police Station.
Immediately after the arrest, police recovered the submachine gun which was stolen from a polling centre hours before the February 27 upazila polls in Magura.

Following the information gleaned from Raju, police recovered the firearms digging the backyard of Raju's residence, the OC added.
Meanwhile, yesterday's "gunfight" erupted when police, along with Raju, went to Gobra area to recover more hidden firearms and nab his associates around 3:00am, the OC said.
Sensing police presence, Raju's cohorts opened fire on them, forcing the law enforcers to retaliate.
Raju was caught in line of fire when he was trying to flee and died on the spot, said the OC.
After the "gunfight", police recovered a gun and six bullets from the spot and sent the body to Magura Sadar Hospital for an autopsy.
The "shootout" came hot on the heels of strong criticism regarding extra-judicial killings by rights organisations.
They raise the question why police come up with almost the same story to explain every "shootout" and, if the stories were true, whose responsibility it is to protect the accused.
Though the state minister for home admits that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure security of the arrestees, he thinks that the "shootout" or "gunfight" incidents were justified.
"When police go to recover arms along with anyone [accused] and the cohorts of the accused launch an attack, they [criminals] don't show any mercy. They shoot whoever they find. If anybody dies there, it will be called [death in] a gunfight,” Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told the BBC yesterday evening.
In his interview, the state minister also denied that concerns were mounting over law and order in the country because of the rising incidents of "crossfire" or "shootout".
"The law and order situation is fine. Children are going to schools, labourers are working and vehicles are running [on the streets]. However, some incidents of burglary and robbery are happening. These are isolated incidents. I don't think the law and order situation has deteriorated,” he said.
At least 33 people have so far been killed in alleged shootouts with police, Rab and the joint forces from January 1 to February 14 this year.
At least seven other people, including a JMB militant, were killed in shootouts till yesterday after February 14, according to The Daily Star reports.
In 2009, the number of extra-judicial killings stood at 229, in 2010 at 133, in 2011 at 100, in 2012 at 91 and in 2013 it was 208, according to a report of rights body Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).
National Human Rights Commission Chairman Prof Mizanur Raman, on several occasions, has urged the law enforcers to stop such killings immediately.