Former Hazaribagh thana unit Chhatra League president Arzu was killed in a reported gunfight between his associates and members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in the city’s Hazaribagh area early Tuesday. Arju is the prime accused in the killing of teenage boy Raja, who was tortured to death allegedly by Arju and his associates in the city’s Ganaktuli of Hazaribagh on Monday over theft of a cell phone set. Sources at the Rab headquarters said a team of Rab-2 arrested Arju from Hazaribagh area on Monday midnight. When the Rab team was going to conduct operation along with Arju to arrest his associates in the early hours of Tuesday, miscreants tried to snatch the BCL leader from the crime busting force’s custody near Mannan Principal’s house at Boraikhal in Hazaribagh area around 3:30 am, said Director (Legal and media wing) of Rab headquarters Mufti Mahmood Khan. He said as the miscreants fired gunshots, the elite force also retaliated by shooting fire and during exchange of fire Arju sustained bullet injuries. At one stage, Arju’s associates fled the scene and the Rab team recovered two foreign made pistols and three bullets from there, the media wing director of the Rab headquarters added. Arju was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries at about 5:30 am. Raja, 16, son of Babul Hossain of 46 Ganaktuli in Hazaribagh, was reportedly picked up by Arju and his associates from his (Raja’s) house and they took him to Arju’s residence on Monday morning alleging that the teenage boy stole his (Arju’s) mobile phone set. Family members of Raja alleged that Arju along with his associates beat Raja mercilessly at his house, leaving the boy injured seriously. They dropped the boy into his house after providing him with first aid at a local clinic, Ratna, paternal aunt of the victim, told medical reporters at DMCH on Monday afternoon. Raja’s family members took him to the DMCH where doctors pronounced him dead around 5pm. There were marks of torture all over Raja’s body, hospital sources said. — Dhaka, Aug 18 (UNB)
