shootout

Killed; obviously in 'shootout'

Militant survives for a few hours into recapture; no trace of two others yet

Star Report

Rakib Hasan

Less than 19 hours after his escape attempt, JMB militant Rakib Hasan Russell alias Hafez Mahmud was killed in “crossfire” at Mirzapur of Tangail early yesterday, something many feared would happen.
Rakib was one of the three top Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh men who were snatched from prison van in a Hollywood-style ambush on a highway Sunday morning. He was captured five hours later when his getaway car crashed.
He was killed hours after journalists asked Deputy Inspector General of Police SM Mahfuzul Haq Nuruzzaman about the possibility of Rakib getting killed in so-called shootouts or crossfire, just like many other arrested criminals.
“We will do everything for his security,” the IGP had told journalists Sunday evening at Sakhipur Police Station in Tangail.
After Rakib, who had been sentenced to death for murder, was captured Sunday afternoon, his mother started crying saying, “My son will be killed”, reported the Bangla daily Prothom Alo.
No journalist was allowed to talk to Rakib. But Detective Branch of police and other law enforcement agencies interrogated Rakib at Sakhipur Police Station for over 12 hours.
According to police, Rakib was in the custody of Sakhipur police before he was taken to Beltoli Ceramics area in Mirzapur upazila around 4:30am yesterday “to arrest JMB militants”.
A joint team of Mymensingh and Tangail police took the handcuffed Rakib there “on information that some JMB men were hiding there”, Officer-in-Charge Golam Mostofa of Mirzapur Police Station told our Tangail correspondent.
He claimed that JMB men sprayed bullets on the police team to snatch Rakib away again. The police retaliated and Rakib got seriously injured during the half-an-hour-long gunfight, he claimed.
Rakib was hit by three bullets and was taken to Mirzapur Kumudini Hospital, where he was declared dead, the OC claimed.
Interestingly, nobody else had any bullet injuries. The three policemen -- Golam Moula, Mohammad Asaduzzaman and Mozammel Haque -- who were allegedly injured were admitted to Tangail Police Hospital, the OC said, adding that a shotgun, one bullet and three bullet shells had been recovered from the scene.
Rakib's killing happened amid an outcry of right activists at home and abroad against extra-judicial killings.
Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, said the practice has continued even after the NHRC repeatedly raised its voice against it. He said the law enforcement agencies must explain what they achieve in such operations in which arrested persons accompany them.
Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, said, "Judging by recent trends, I'm not at all surprised, though deeply disturbed, by the latest killing by crossfire. The law enforcement institutions have been doing everything possible to lead to the sharp erosion of public trust in them. This is very unfortunate and extremely damaging for