'Kidnapper' killed in 'shootout'

A teenager, who allegedly abducted and killed a fourth grader, was killed in a “gunfight” with police in Jashore's Monirampur upazila early yesterday.

The dead has been identified as Billal Hossain of Fedaipur village in the same upazila. Aged about 19, he was a class-IX student of Gopalpur High School, police said.

Shahidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Monirampur Police Station, said Billal abducted Tarif Hossain, a fourth grader at Gopalpur Government Primary School, on Sunday and demanded Tk 5 lakh as ransom from his family over the phone. He gave the family members a bKash agent's number for sending the ransom money.

The following day, Tarif's father filed a general diary with Monirampur Police Station.

Police picked up Billal from Keshabpur upazila on Tuesday when he went to the bKash agent to collect the ransom money. They claimed that Billal during primary interrogation admitted to abducting Tarif.

Gleaning information from him, police later recovered Tarif's body, from Satnol Bridge area around 3:00am yesterday.

Sensing the presence of law enforcers, Billal's associates opened fire at police. Cops fired retaliatory shots in self-defense.

At one stage, Billal was caught in the line of fire and died on the spot.

Police claimed to have recovered a gun and a bullet from there. They also detained Lima Khatun, 20, and Masum Billah, 35, from their Keshabpur homes early yesterday in connection with the abduction.

Law enforcers handed over the two bodies to their relatives yesterday after autopsies were carried out on them at Jashore General Hospital.

Talking to reporters at the hospital, Tarif's uncle Akhter Hossain said his nephew along with his twin brother Tashif went to a field near their home to play cricket around 4:30pm on Sunday. Though Tashif returned home in the evening, Tarif remained missing.

Failing to trace him in and around the area, Tarif's father filed the GD with Monirampur police the next day, he added.

'YABA TRADER'S' BODY RECOVERED

Cox's Bazar police recovered the bullet-hit body of alleged yaba trader Jahangir Alam alias Yaba Jahangir from the town's Kolatoli Bypass area early yesterday.

Police said Jahangir, a listed yaba trader, was a resident of ABC Ghona area in Cox's Bazar municipality.

Law enforcers sent the body to Cox's Bazar District Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy.

Locals said some people kidnapped Jahangir from ABC Ghona Chairman Ghata area around 10:00pm on Tuesday.

Police were investigating into the killing.

Our correspondents in Benapole and Cox's Bazar contributed to this report.