An unidentified youth was shot dead by the Rapid Action Battalion as he reportedly violated battalion members’ signal at a checkpoint during his motorcycle riding in apparently calm area at Khilgaon in Dhaka early Saturday.
Battalion officials said that the young man, aged about 25, in sweater and jeans, was carrying explosives in his backpack, which the battalion later seized and exploded.
The youth, with little beard, sustained four bullets, three of which pierced the chest and the other pierced the knee, Dhaka Medical College forensic medicine experts said.
RAB-3 commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Tuhin Mohammad Masud said that they were verifying the identity of the deceased and hoped that he would be identified shortly.
According to the battalion official, the youth was coming from outside of the capital and carrying explosives in the backpack.
Tuhin claimed that battalion officials at the checkpoint signalled the youth who was riding motorcycle at about 4:45am at Shekher Jayga in Mostafa Majhir More at Khilgaon.
He claimed that the personnel followed due procedure before opining fire.
The investigators said that the youth was a suspected extremist.
‘We suspected him when he was riding bike and was not following our signal. It was proved when we found explosives inside his backpack,’ said Tuhin.
A red-colour motorcycle was seen lying on the ground beside body which was later seized.
Two battalion personnel were also injured in the incident, the battalion claimed without detailing the circumstances.
Local people said that police always patrolled the area at night. Khilgaon police station sub-inspector Emdadul Hoque was also present nearby when the incident took place.
Emdadul could not be communicated.
Khilgaon police station officer-in-charge Kazi Moinul Islam said that the battalion informed them immediately after the incident but could not say when the time was.
‘I can give you detail once I get the FIR [first information report] from the battalion,’ said Moinul.
The incident occurred after a youth was blown up in a suicide bombing at a battalion barrack within an under-construction installation of the battalion at Dakkhin Khan in Dhaka on Friday.
Battalion officials suspected that it was an extremist attack while Islamic State claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the security installation that also injured two battalion members.
Source: New Age
