Criminal SM Alam alias Alamgir Talukder alias Alamya, also an armed cadre of the Bangladesh Chhatra League and a suspect in the recent mugging incident of Tk 24 lakh at Kadamtali, received bullets in both the legs, police sources said.

The Double Mooring police arrested Alam and his associate Zia Uddin alias Kochi from Pahartali area when the latter was reportedly trying to flee to India through the Benapole border by a bus on Wednesday night and brought them under their custody as suspects in the Kadamtali mugging incident.

The police along with the two went to Bayezid upazila area on a search for their accomplices and illegal firearms in the early hours yesterday.

The accomplices of Alam and Kochi opened fire on the police while the law enforcers were recovering one LG gun with three rounds of cartridges from the slope of a hill situated between the Muktijuddho Colony and Arefin Nagar.

The police also returned fire resulting in a gunfight in which Alam received bullets, reportedly shot by his accomplices, according to police claim.

Ziauddin Kochi was, however, unhurt while their accomplices managed to flee, said the police.

Alam was undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital under police custody.