'Shootout' kills key accused:Daily Star

Moghbazar triple murder accused Shah Alam, alias Kailla Babu, was shot to death in Dhaka yesterday. While police claimed Babu was killed in a “gunfight between his cohorts and DB police”, his wife said, “A group of people identifying themselves as detectives picked him up around 10:00pm Sunday from his in-law's house in Narayanganj.” Mariam Begum identified her husband's body at Dhaka Medical Coll
ege morgue. Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, briefing reporters at the DMP Media Centre said a team from the Detective Branch reached Beparir Goli of Moghbazar around 3:45am yesterday on information about a group of criminals gathering to carry out criminal activities.  Sensing police presence, the gang started firing, prompting law enforcers to retaliate. One of the criminals was bullet-hit and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead, said the officer. The DB team arrested Rajib Hassan, 27, and Al Amin, 31, while four to five others managed to run away. According to police, Al Amin along with Babu was accused in a murder case, and Rajib is a criminal of Old Dhaka. The arrestees had initially identified the dead as Kailla Babu, Monirul said, adding that police could not identify Babu as they didn't have his recent photo. Advertisement The DB team recovered a pistol, three bullets, seven shells of bullets, eight shells of shotgun ammunition and a machete from the spot, the joint commissioner told the media. Visiting Beparir Goli yesterday afternoon, this correspondent saw pools of blood in the alley and the blood stained wall of an adjacent house. Wishing not to be named, a 17-year-old local told The Daily Star that he woke up around 3:40am hearing gunshots. Later, he heard two to three more shots. Another local said he saw law enforcers leaving the place with a body. The law enforcers cordoned off the area and did not allow anyone to enter the alley until 5:00am. An inquest report was prepared yesterday while an autopsy would be performed today, morgue sources said. Babu's wife Mariam said her husband had been living with her in her parents' home at Bijoynagar of Sonargaon upazila in Narayanganj, and used to visit the capital frequently. “He used to buy and sell pigeons in Narayanganj. I did not know that he was involved in criminal activities,” she said. The couple has a two-year-old son. On August 28, Mohammad Munna, 18, Billal Hossain, 20, and Ranu Akhter Brishti, 28, were shot to death and Ranu's brother Hridoy, 20, was injured at a house in Sonalibagh of Moghbazar. Reportedly, feuds over illegal toll collection and land dispute led to the shooting. Kala Chan, another brother of Ranu, filed a case in connection with the triple murder with Ramna Police Station, accusing Kailla Babu and fourteen others.