Man dies in 'gun battle'

A man has died in an 'encounter' with Detective Branch personnel at Hatirjheel in capital Dhaka, police have said.

Police claimed the victim, Shafiq, was part of an abduction racket and was involved in the recent kidnapping of a girl in Uttara.

DC of detective branch (east) Jahangir Hossain Matubbar told bdnews24.com that the inmates of a car had fired at a detective police patrol when asked to halt at Hatirjheel around 3 am on Friday.

“Police fired back and the car abruptly stopped at the Hatirjheel No. 1 bridge. Police found a bullet-ridden young man beside the car. When taken to the hospital, doctors pronounced him dead."

Shafiq aka Apon had been detained earlier with arms. He was also involved in the abduction of an Uttara girl on July 3, an incident in which a security guard was killed.

Shafiq was accused in 15 cases of murder, abduction, illegal possession of arms, mugging and stealing. He hailed from Noakhali.

The DC also said, "Once, he was a driver's assistant, later he became a driver and engaged in criminal activities."

The body was sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy.