11 more suspected drug peddlers killed in ‘gunfights’

At least 11 more people have been killed in alleged shootouts amid a nationwide anti-drug purge by Bangladesh’s security forces.

Two people were reportedly killed in Satkhira, two others in Cumilla, two more in Pirojpur and one each in Chandpur, Dhaka, Pabna, Munshiganj and Jhenaidah.

At least 90 people have been killed in alleged shootouts since law enforcers began an anti-drug campaign on May 19 under orders from the prime minister.

Security forces claim that all of the dead are involved in drug trafficking, but human rights organisations have raised questions about these reported incidents, calling the incidents ‘extrajudicial killings’.

Many of the initial deaths were reported to be from ‘crossfire’ during confrontations between criminals and law enforcers, but security forces claim that several of the recent deaths occurred during internal conflict among rival gangs of drug traffickers.

In response to criticism, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said that security forces were conducting an ‘all-out war’ on drugs and would continue to do so until trafficking was eliminated.

THE DEAD

Suspects Enamul Haque Dolon Bhuiyan, 35, and Nuru, 55, were killed in separate alleged gunfights involving police in Cumilla. 

Police say that Dolon, a known drug dealer, and his accomplices instigated a shootout with a police team at Debidwar’s Bhinglabari village when law enforcers attempted to arrest him. 
Dolon was critically injured in the ‘crossfire’ and later succumbed to his injuries. He had been accused in 12 drug-related cases, police said.

Police say Nuru, who was involved in the drug trade, was killed in a similar shootout in the Goliara area of the Sadar Upazila near the border. He was accused in 11 drug-related and one weapons case, said Sadar South police chief Nazrul Islam.

So far 10 people have been killed in Cumilla since the start of the anti-drug raids.

Two people named Wahiduzzaman Wahid and Md Mizan were killed in alleged shootouts in Pirojpur.

Wahid was detained in the Krishnanagar area of the Sadar Upazila on Sundayafternoon, said Pirojpur Additional Superintendent of Police GM Abul Kalam Azad. He was taken on a drug raid by the Detective Branch of police around12:45am, when Wahid’s accomplices fired on the team, the police official said. Wahid was allegedly shot in the crossfire and later died of his injuries. Wahid was convicted in one drug-related case and accused in eight others.

Mizan was killed in a shootout with police in Matbaria Upazila’s Boro Machua, said local police chief Md Golam Sarwar.

Two unidentified bodies were found by police near the road to Agunpur village in Satkhira. Police say the two were killed in a gunfight between rival drug traffickers.

 Farid Hossain, 42, was killed in a similar incident of violence between rival drug traffickers in Jhenaidah’s Sadar Upazila, police said. Hossain was one of the district’s ‘top drug kingpins’, they said.

Police reported that Abu Sayeed Badshah aka Lal Badshah, 45, was killed in a shootout with Chandpur’s Faridganj Upazila during a raid in the area. He was accused in 10 drug-related cases.

A robber named Izzat Ali Pramanik, 38, was killed during a police raid in Pabna’s Haturia Upazila around 1:30am on Monday, said Pabna Additional Superintendent of Police Gautam Kumar Biswas. Drugs were recovered from the scene, he added. Pramanik was accused in 14 cases, including charges of murder, robbery, extortion and kidnapping.

Police say they have also recovered substantial amounts of drugs and weapons in these raids.

Source: bdnews24