Man killed in ‘gunfight’ between BGB, smugglers

A man was shot dead, allegedly during an attack and counterattack between a group of smugglers and the Border Guard Bangladesh members in Sylhet's Jaintiapur upazila yesterday.

The deceased is Almas Uddin, 30, of Nayakhel Purbo village under Charikata union. The incident took place around 10:00am, near the Balidara Kandirmukh Mosque.

Abul Bashar Md Badruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Jaintiapur Police Station, said, "Almas was shot dead during a gunfight between BGB and smugglers. However, whose bullet hit him is yet to be confirmed."

Lt Col Zubayer Anwar, commanding officer of BGB Zakiganj Battalion, in a press note, said a group of smugglers carrying betel nuts from India was chased by a patrol team near the Suraighat Border Outpost.

The smugglers at one point attacked the BGB unit, and in self-defence, the BGB personnel opened 4-5 rounds of fire. A BGB member was injured in the attack and is undergoing treatment.  Despite repeated attempts, the commanding officer could not be reached for comments.