A man was shot dead in what Rab said was a gunfight between officers and armed gang members in Golabari area of Cumilla early yesterday.
This is the first such incident since the US government imposed sanctions on Rab in December last year over allegations of rights violations.
But before the sanctions were announced on December 10, law enforcers used to report deaths in such gunfights quite frequently.
Raju, 35, the man shot dead between 1:45am and 2:00am yesterday, was main accused in a case filed over the murder of a journalist last week, said Major Mohammad Sakib Hossain, company commander at Rab-11.
“A Rab-11 team was raiding the area based on a tip-off when the miscreants sensed the presence of Rab officers and started shooting at them. As Rab men retaliated, the miscreants fled the scene, leaving an injured man,” he told reporters, adding that the man was taken to Cumilla Medical College Hospital.
According to hospital records, Raju’s body was brought to the facility at 2:15am.
There were gunshot wounds on the left side of his chest, stomach, and arms, said sources at the morgue of the college.
Raju’s father Sadek Mia received the body from the morgue.
“If my son committed a crime, the law and court were there to deal with it. The justice system could have punished him,” he told The Daily Star.
He added that he heard about Raju’s death when he woke up around 3:00am for sehri.