National

Cox’s Bazar JL leader murder: Another Rohingya suspect killed in ‘gunfight’

A Rohingya youth, a suspect in the murder of Jubo League (JL) leader Omar Faruk, was killed in a reported gunfight with police at Jadimura in Teknaf upazila early Monday. 

The deceased was identified as Hasan, son of Hamid Ullah of Jadimura Rohingya camp.

With this, three Rohingya suspects were killed in ‘gunfights’ after the murder of the Jubo League leader. 

Tipped off that Rohingya criminals were gathering beside Jadimura Hill, police conducted a drive there around 1:30 am, said Pradip Kumar Das, officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station.

Sensing the presence of police, the criminals opened fire on them, forcing them to fire back in self-defence that triggered the gunfight, the OC said.

After the gunfight, police rescued the injured Rohingya youth from the spot and admitted him to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex from where he was shifted to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead.

Pradip Kumar said police recovered a gun, five rounds of bullet from the spot.

On Thursday night, Jubo League leader Omar Faruk, 30, was shot dead at Jadimura in Teknaf upazila allegedly by a group of Rohingya criminals.

Being angered by the incident, hundreds of agitated locals stormed a Rohingya camp and vandalised makeshift houses and NGO offices on Friday afternoon.

They burned tyres and plastic boxes to block a five-kilometre road from Teknaf municipality to Leda Point for three hours. The house of Rohingya leader Noor Mohammad was also torched.

Two Rohingya youths, suspects in JL leader murder, were killed in a reported gunfight with police in Teknaf upazila the following day.

Forty-three Rohingyas were killed in the last two years in internal conflicts while 32 others died in gunfights with security forces, said Police Superintendent of Cox’s Bazar ABM Masud Hossain.

Nearly 1,100 Rohingyas have been accused in 471 cases - 208 of them related to narcotics - since the influx began in late August 2017, he said.