A regional leader of an outlawed party was killed in an 'encounter' with Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Mongla port area on Saturday night while a top outlaw was beaten to death by a lynch mob in Daulatpur upazila.

Biplobi Communist Party (BCP) leader Nurul Islam, 50, who was shot during a shootout between Rab and his accomplices, was arrested at Baniashanta Bazar under Dakop Police Station earlier on Saturday evening.

According to a press release from Rab-6, he was wanted in 38 criminal cases including three for murder FROM PAGE 16

filed with different police stations in Khulna and Bagerhat districts.

As a Rab team taking Nurul with them entered the port area to recover firearms at about midnight Saturday, accomplices of the outlaw leader opened fire on them. The Rab men returned fire, triggering a 15-minute gunfight. Nurul got caught in the crossfire while trying to escape, the press release added.

A locally-made pistol, a pipe gun and ammunition were recovered from the scene of the shooting. One Rab member was also injured in the gunfight.

LYNCHING

An operative of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) Janajuddho faction, Mizanur Rahman Mizan, 28, was lynched at about 9:30pm on Saturday when he went to Kalpataru Market at Daulatpur to extort money from a local businessman.

According to Daulatpur police, Mizan had wanted Tk 3 lakh in toll from Kalu Sarder and threatened to kill him for non-compliance with the demand.

Businessmen of the market filed a general diary with Daulatpur Police Station on Saturday morning, fearing

attacks by the PBCP men.

Police said locals caught Mizan while he was about to shoot Kalu Sarder for refusing to pay the toll. They battered him to death before police could reach the scene.

Assistant Commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) Abdur Rezzaque said the outlaw stood accused in several cases filed with Daulatpur and Khalishipur Police Stations.

According to a source in KMP, Mizan had been holed up in 24 Parganas of West Bengal to evade Rab actions in Khulna. In hiding, he had kept in close touch with Liberation Tigers of Bangladesh (LTB). Headquartered in Basirhat of the Indian state, the organisation is said to have at least nine training camps across 24 Parganas. Its aims and objectives are to carry out subversive activities inside the Bangladesh territory.

Mizan had returned to Bangladesh in last April and fled across border again allegedly after killing fellow party man Tapan on April 28. He came back to Khulna for the last time sometime in August, added the source.