A local Jubo League leader who sustained bullet injuries allegedly during a gunfight with police in the capital's Kalabagan area was arrested yesterday.

Police recovered a pistol, 10 bullets, two magazines and a motor cycle from his possession. Ferdous Islam Pallab, 36, a vice president of Ward 13 Jubo League unit in Mirpur denied shooting at police and said police chased him and shot him. He said the arms and motor cycle seized from him were licensed.

Kalabagan police brought him to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital at around 3:00am with bullet wounds in both legs. He is undergoing treatment there in police custody.

Sub-inspector (SI) Moniruzzaman Mondol told this correspondent that a three-member police team saw two youths standing in front of a house while they were patrolling the Central road area at around 2.15am.

As they approached the youths,

Pallab claimed he was a member of a law enforcement agency. When asked why he was standing there at that hour of night, he drew out a pistol and threatened to shoot the police team.

Pallab lives at Monipur under Mirpur police station. As he could not give any satisfactory explanation to police as to why he was loitering in the Central road in the wee hours, the police team returned after a little while.

Meanwhile, SI Mondol phoned his colleague SI Moniruzzaman Khan and came to know that the youth was unlikely to be a law enforcer.

Then Mondol and Khan raided the area with their teams while ASI Shahiduddin was stationed near the BhuterGoli.

As Pallab, sensing a raid, rode away

towards Bhuter Goli with two of his aides, they confronted the teams led by SI Khan and ASI Shahiduddin.

Pal lab shot at the team of SI Khan who also retaliated. When the miscreants were fleeing, SI Mondal's team opened fire at them. Two criminals managed to flee the scene but police caught bullet-hit Pallab who fell offthe motorbike.

Pallab, however, refused to make any comment to The Daily Star about the police version of the gunfight and his subsequent arrest.

Pallab is a leader ofMirpur Jubo League and the arms recovered from him were licensed, Pallab'srelativeswhocametothe DMCH on information told police although they could not show any licence till yesterday evening.