Families scream willful murder of 13 suspects, no 'encounters' in Khulna

Many questions over the murders of 13 people in two ‘encounters’ in Khulna’s Koyra and Paikgachha on Oct 5 have remained unanswered.

Police say they were ‘active members of notorious pirate gang Kashem Bahini’, but their families and locals rubbish the claim.

Police said one of the 'encounters' took place in the Sundarbans near Hadda in Koyra at around 1:30pm and the other at Jhilbunia under Paikgachha in the morning, a day before the Eid-ul-Azha.

According to statements of the cases filed by police, 11 robbers were killed when they tried to flee from police custody during an encounter between police and Kashem Bahini members’ on Gangrokkhir Char in the mangrove forest.

Seven hours earlier, ‘two other members of the Bahini' were killed in another encounter’ at Jhilbunia village, police said.

Relatives said they found the victims with broken limbs and necks and injury marks on the bodies.

The physicians who autopsied the bodies said all the 13 died from wounds from bullets, most of which pierced the chests.

Locals said the 11 killed in the forest had earlier been caught and beaten by villagers on suspicion that they were robbers, but police did not clarify the matter.

Relatives of the victims asked why police would go on raids with ‘critically injured’ arrestees instead of taking them to hospital.

The case statements

According to the statement of the case filed with Paikgachha police, OC of the Police Station Shikdar Akkas Ali received tipoff over phone at around 3:45am on Oct 5 that 14-15 robbers abducted college teacher Prasant Kumar Dhali from Jhilbunia and tried to flee by a trawler.

It said the law enforcers reached Jhilbunia at around 4:45am with the help of Deluti Camp police.

“As the police and villagers chased the robbers, they started firing indiscriminately. The kidnappers were dispersed when police fired in retaliation,” the case statement said.

It said at one stage locals caught the robbers and roughed them up before handing the 13 over to police.

Bullet-hit two -- Habibur Sardar aka Hobi, 39, and ‘Karimul’, 28, -- were sent to Khulna General Hospital where they died, the statement added.

Police claimed the arrestees admitted that they were members of ‘Kashem Bahini’ and divulged that Kashem developed a temporary camp in the Sundarbans by accumulating arms and ammunition.

The law enforcers said a team of 33 of their members went on the raid on Gangrokkhi Char at noon taking the arrestees with them following their statements.

They claimed as the police reached the area, ‘Kashem Bahini’ members started firing indiscriminately and the robbers tried to flee.

The 11 were killed in the encounter there, they said.

Those killed are Sabur Morol, 40, son of Sharif Morol from Magura village under Paikgachha, Hanif Gazi, 34, son of Sultan Gazi from Kalabogi village under Dacope Upazila, Alam Morol, 27, son of Nannu Morol from Mongla under Bagerhat, Amirul aka Akhirul Sheikh, 26, son of Aziz Sheikh, Shafiqul Sheikh, 21, son of Shahid Sheikh, and Afzal Sheikh, 24, son of Jalil Sheikh from Tipna village under, his cousin Nasrul Sheikh, 22, Mofizul Mollah, 30, and Ibrahim aka Mahabbu Mollah, 41, sons of Sattar Mollah from Sarafpur village, Rubel Sheikh, 23, son of Gaffar Sheikh, and Junaid Khan, 22, son of Yusuf Ali Khan from Golna village under Dumuria Upazila.

Straight into the raid

Families told bdnews24.com many of the corpses had their hands or legs or neck broken and bore wounds when they received the bodies.

Many locals at Bigordana union said 11 robbers were critically injured when the villagers gave them a good beating after the first 'gun-battle' with police.

They said those badly injured at the time could not even walk. Police took them away from the scene on their van.

Asked why police took the injured detainees straight into the raid instead of hospital, Rubel Sheikh's cousin Mohsin Sheikh said: "Police could have taken only one of them if they wanted. Why they had to take all 11?"

"And why is that not one policeman died when all of (the detainees) got shot dead?"

Another victim Junaid Khan's father Yusuf Ali claimed that his son's both legs were broken when his body was handed over.

Deluti police outpost Sub-Inspector Abdul Jalil told bdnews24.com: "Two of them who were shot were taken to Khulna Sadar Hospital. The 11 others were tagged along into the raid."

'None of them were robbers'

bdnews24.com correspondents visited houses of several deceased - Akhirul, Nasrul, Shafiqul, Rubel, Junaid and Afzal - at Dumuria only to find that most of the families were very poor.

The houses do not have any gas or electricity connection, not even a tube-well that could provide fresh water. Most of the families lived off farming.

The deceased were buried in the open ground behind their houses.

Family members said these six did not have any steady jobs. One would work as a tube-well mechanic, another was a bus driver's assistant while another one was a farmer.

Some of them would work as Nasiman (locally-built human hauler) driver and pigeon trader, relatives said.

They claimed none of the deceased were listed criminals or had any cases against them. Their involvement in any robberies was 'out of question', they said.

Akhirul's brother Atiar Sheikh claimed his brother and Nasrul were in good terms with Dumuria police.

Claiming the duo was murdered, he asked: "Would they have good relations with police if they were robbers?"

Rubel Sheikh was a first-year student at Dumuria Government College. He had left home four days before the incident for starting a seasonal dry fish business.

Junaid was a second-year student at the same college. His father Yusuf Ali said: "Why will my son become a robber? Somebody has killed him. I don’t know why. I only want proper investigation."

Autopsy

According to details of the case lodged at Paikgachha, police gave accounts of 19 rounds from pistols, 20 rounds from rifles and 54 rounds from shotguns - all of which were shot during the 'gun-battles'.

It also said that the robbers had fired 70-80 rounds during that time.

Khulna Medical College and Hospital's doctor Surajit Bain, who conducted autopsy of the 13 corpses, said all of them were shot dead.

Most of them were shot in the chest and some received bullet wounds on their neck, face and head, he added.

Seeking anonymity, another doctor, who was also involved in the post-mortem process, told bdnews24.com that 10 people were shot in the chest just once.

"At least two of them were shot by several bullets. Bullets went through neck, face or back in some cases. Besides that, their bodies had injury marks."

Families of some of the deceased asked how it was possible for each person to get shot only in a specific spot in the body when both sides exchanges over 150 rounds of bullets during the 'gun-battle'.

Akhirul's father Aziz said both Akhirul and Nasrul were shot once in the face. There were no other bullet wounds in their bodies.

"I think they were shot from point blank range," he alleged.

What police say

Dumuria Police Station OC M Mashiur Rahman said everyone killed in the Oct 5 'encounters' had cases against them at different police stations - some faced robbery charges and some for illegal possession of arms.

"Akhirul was in jail three months ago after being arrested in a robbery case. Karimul was arrested once with three firearms and Hobi was accused in a robbery case."

OC Rahman trashed claims of their families that Akhirul and Nasrul had good relations with police.

"I took charge of this station four months ago. I don't know whether Akhirul would come to the station with someone. But he didn't dare to come since I came here," he said.

Paikgachha police OC Akkas Ali brushed off the allegation that the 13 were 'murdered'.

“The kidnappers were locked in a gunfight with police when police went to rescue an abducted teacher. Six police members were injured in the bullets fired by the kidnappers and they took medical treatment. The claim that police killed them is not true,” he said.

Khulna Superintendent of Police Md Habibur Rahman echoed the statements of OC Akkas Ali.

“The robbers were killed in encounters with police. There is no scope for controversy here. The mob turned handed them to police. Police didn’t arrest any of them from their houses,” he said.

Police claimed that they recovered 13 locally made guns, three pipe-guns and 57 rounds of bullet in their two raids.

 

 

Paikgacha OC Shikdar Akkas Ali's statement