A suspected criminal was killed in a ‘shootout’ with police at Haldipara in Maheshkhali upazila early Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Santu, son of Rowshan Miah, a resident of Lalpur village of the upazila, and an accused in a number of cases, including that of murder. Aminul Islam Biplob, officer-in-charge of Maheshkhali Police Station, said police recovered the body of Hakimul Islam Pinu, a resident of Gopalpur village on February 18, after he had gone missing on February 15. Santu went into hiding after he had been made the prime accused in the Pini murder case. Tipped off, a team of police conducted a drive at Mirpur upazila in Kushtia district and arrested Santu on Monday evening. Acting on Santu’s information, the law enforcers conducted another drive in a field of Haldipara area around 4am. Sensing the presence of police, Santu’s cohorts reportedly opened fire on the police prompting the law enforcers to retaliate. After a brief gunfight, police rescued Santu with bullet wounds and admitted him to Maheshpur Upazila Health Complex, where doctor declared him dead. Altaf Hossain, superintendent of Jhenidah police, said three cops — assistant sub-inspector Kazi Shamsul Alam and constables Ahsan Habib and Masud – were also injured in the gunfight. They were also admitted to the health complex. Police also recovered a shutter gun and three bullets from the spot, he said. — Jhenidah, Feb 23 (UNB)
