Ex-army officer dies in Teknaf police fire

A retired army officer has been shot dead by police after he allegedly brandished a gun during a search of his vehicle at a check-post in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf Upazila.

The incident occurred in Baharchhara Union's Shamlapur area along the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive around 10:30 am Friday, according to the district's Superintendent of Police ABM Masud Hossain.

The victim was identified as Sinha Md Rashed, who retired as a major in the Bangladesh Army.

Aside from recovering firearms and drugs, police also detained two people from the scene. Two cases have been initiated over the matter, according to the law-enforcement agency.

Locals informed police about the presence of 'armed men' near the hideout of a Rohingya robbery gang 'Hakim Bahini' in the hills of Shamlapur around 9 pm on Friday, SP Masud said.

"They claimed to have seen two men clad in burqas descend from the hills and enter a car before driving off towards Marine Drive."

Acting on the information, police intensified the security checks at the checkpoint on the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive in Shamlapur.

"Police officers on duty stopped a car at the checkpoint to conduct a search. One of the two men in the car identified himself as a retired army major and tried to impede the process," said SP Masud. 

"An altercation broke out between him and the police and at one point, the man who identified himself as a retired army officer, pulled out a gun and attempted to fire at the police. The law enforcers subsequently shot him in retaliation."

Rashed was rushed to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital where the on-duty doctors declared him dead, according to the police.

Police recovered a pistol, nine bullets, 50 yaba tablets, two bottles of foreign liquor and marijuana from the car. The other passenger in the car was also arrested.

Rashed had been staying at the Nilima Resort in Cox's Bazar's Himchhari area for about a month to purportedly work on a documentary, said, SP Masud. He was accompanied by a woman and three other men there.

Following the incident, police conducted a raid on the resort and arrested another person. But the law-enforcement agency did not reveal the names or identities of the detainees.

Two cases under the illegal firearms and narcotics law have been initiated by the police. Meanwhile, Rashed's body is being kept at Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital's morgue ahead of an autopsy.