Army officer among 4 dead in Bandarban gunfight

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Cox Gazette February 4, 2022, 01:37 AM

An army member and three criminals were killed during an exchange of fire in Bandarban's Ruma upazila on Wednesday night, an ISPR press release said yesterday.

Habibur Rahman, a senior warrant officer of the army, was shot in the head.

An army soldier also suffered bullet wounds in the incident. He was flown to the Combined Military Hospital in Chattogram yesterday morning.

Inter Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) said the three armed criminals belonged to Parbatya Chattogram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS).

It said the incident happened after a patrol team from Raing Khiang Lake army camp, led by Habibur, went to Bothipara area around 10:30pm on Wednesday, on information that a group of criminals would arrive there for extortion.

As soon as the team reached there, the criminals, holed up in a house, started firing at the army personnel. The patrol team acted promptly, launching a counter attack, which left three criminals shot.

The criminals fired shots indiscriminately while fleeing. At that time, Habibur was shot in the head. He fell to the ground and died. Soldier Firoz was shot in the leg, the press release read. 

Later, the patrol team recovered an SMG, 275 bullets, three guns, four uniforms and Tk 52,900 in cash from the spot, it said.

The body of the army man was taken to the CMH.

ISPR also said an army patrol team was conducting a search in the area while ensuring the safety of the locals.

Abul Kashem, officer-in-charge of Ruma Police Station, said they recovered the bodies of the three criminals.

However, PCJSS claimed none of its members was involved in the incident. In a statement, it said it does not have any armed group and such an allegation against PCJSS is "completely baseless and politically motivated".