An alleged criminal was killed in a “shootout” between Rab and his aides in Sandwip upazila of Chittagong yesterday.

Deceased Mosharraf Hossain, 33, was son of Mohammad Siddique of Bauria village in the upazila.

Rapid Action Battalion claimed Mosharraf was the ring leader of a robber gang named after him. “The gang is committing robberies in the area.”

AHM Moshiur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Sandwip Police Station, said Mosharraf stood accused in over a dozen criminal cases, including robbery and firearm possession. Acting on a tip-off, a team of the elite force raided a shop in front of Mostafizur Rahman Degree College in the upazila headquarters and detained Mosharraf and his five aides around 12:30pm, said Squadron leader Mahfuzur Rahman, special company commander of Rab-7.

The team then went to Bauria Jungle Bari to recover arms as Mosharraf and his aides told the team that they had kept firearms there. When they reached near the spot, cohorts of Mosharraf opened fire on Rab members.

In retaliation, Rab also returned fire, triggering a "gunfight" between the Rab members and criminals. At one point, Mosharraf was hit by bullets when he was trying to run away from the spot. He died on the spot, said the Rab official.

Around 30 firearms and 49 bullets were recovered in the drive, Rab also claimed.

Police sent the body to Chittagong Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy.