Two 'arson accused' killed in 'gunfight'

Two more pro-BNP men were killed in a "shootout" with police in Agailjhara of Barisal early yesterday.

Of them, Tipu Hawlader, 30, son of Matiur Rahman Hawlader, was hit by six bullets and Kabir Mollah, 32, son of Hosen Mollah, was shot three times, said police.

They stood accused in a case for firebombing a fruit-laden pick-up on February 9 in Agailjhara and had been absconding since then, said Monirul Islam, officer-in-charge of Agailjhara Police Station.

With the two, 35 people have been killed in alleged gunfights with law enforcers since the BNP-led                 20-party alliance enforced an indefinite countrywide blockade on January 6.

At least 18 of the victims were activists of either the BNP or its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami, according to The Daily Star reports.

The families of the Agailjhara "shootout" victims could not be reached for their comments.

Ebaidul Haque Chand, president of Barisal (south) BNP, said Tipu was the sports secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal's Agailjhara upazila unit, while Kabir was an activist of Jubo Dal. Both hailed from Nagarbari village of the upazila, reports our Barisal correspondent.

OC Monirul said a team of Agailjhara police with the help of detectives in Dhaka caught Kabir from a relative's house in Ashulia around 4:00am Friday.

Around an hour later, the same team arrested Tipu from Keraniganj, on the outskirts of the capital. He too was hiding at a relative's house, the OC said over the phone.

Around midnight, the two were taken to Agailjhara to hunt down other accused in the arson case. As the law enforcers reached Jobarpar, they came under a firebomb            attack around 2:10am Saturday, he claimed.

"The criminals also opened fire on police, forcing them to retaliate with gunfire," said the OC.

After the gunfight, police found the bullet-riddled bodies of Tipu and Kabir on the ground, Monirul said, adding that five petrol bombs and four sharp weapons were recovered from the spot.

The bodies were handed over to their families after autopsies at Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, said the OC.

During the "shootout", an assistant sub-inspector and a constable suffered minor injuries, he   claimed.