Two men were killed by a team of the police and the Rapid Action Battalion in ‘gunfights’ in Chuadanga and Pirojpur early Wednesday.
The deceased were Azizul Islam, 38, second-in-command of the Enamul Bahini at Alamdanga in Chuadanga and Motaleb Sheik, 38, of Darir Char at Mongla in Khulna, said to be a gangster of the Motaleb Bahini.
The latest incidents took to 19 the number of such people killed extrajudicially in the incidents of ‘crossfire,’ ‘gunfight’ or ‘encounter’ after January 1.
Two hundred and forty-nine people have so far fallen victim to extrajudicial killing by law enforcers since January 6, 2009 after the government assumed office with a commitment to end extrajudicial killing.
In Chuadanga, Azizul was killed in a ‘gunfight’ with the police at Khaskarra of Alamdanga early Wednesday.
Azizul, of Asannagar at Mirpur in Kushtia, was accused in four cases, including two for murder, filed with the police in Chuadanga and Kushtia, the law enforcers said.
With this, two ‘crossfire’ incidents have taken place in Chuadanga this year.
The Alamdanga police said their team on a tip-off raided an abandoned house where Azizul and his associates were holding a meeting at about 4:15am.
As the lawmen approached, Azizul and his associates threw two bombs into the law enforcers, who fired back, leading to a ‘gunfight.’
The law enforcers found Azizul dead when his associates managed to get away, the Alamdanga police officer-in-charge, Ahsan Habib, said.
The police seized a shutter gun and three bullets from the spot.
The New Age correspondent in Pirojpur said that Motaleb had been killed in a ‘gunfight’ with the Rapid Action Battalion at Tagra of Zianagar.
Motaleb was accused in a at least eight cases filed with the Koyra and other police stations in Khulna and Bagerhat, the law enforcers said.
The battalion officials in Khulna and Barisal said their team had raided the area early Wednesday.
As the lawmen approached, Motaleb and his associates fired into the battalion personnel, who fired back, leading to a ‘gunfight.’
Arms and ammunitions also were seized from the spot.
The Zianagar police officer-in-charge, Abdur Razzak, said body had been sent to the Pirojpur General Hospital morgue for a post mortem examination.
