JL man killed in ‘gunfight’ [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

JL man killed in ‘gunfight’

Local February 25, 2017

A Juba League activist was killed in a ‘gunfight’ between police and ‘miscreants’ in Khulna early Friday, about 12 hours after his family claimed that police picked him up from a court premises.
The deceased is Ziaur Rahman, 45, of village Gutudia under Dumuria in Khulna.
He was known as Zia Sana alias Hatkata Zia alias Bomaru Zia alias Agun and was wanted in at least nine cases including eight for murder and one for attempt to murder, claimed Harintana Police Station officer-in-charge MM Mizanur Rahman.
The OC claimed that he was second-in-command of New Biplobi Communist Party (Mrinal Bahini) and was a drug trader.
Gutudia union Awami League general secretary Quazi Nurul Islam told New Age that Zia was active in the Juba League politics and was never in hiding.
A press release issued by Khulna Metropolitan Police claimed that they had in formation about Zia, Jony Biswas, 34, Sagar Kazi, 30, Pabitra, 36, an unidentified man, 30, and other five or six people preparing for robbery at South Bangla Residential Project under the metropolitan police.
A team of Harintana police along with two local freedom fighters raided the area around 2:15am on Friday.
The suspects, sensing presence of police, opened fire on police and police also retaliated by firing, the release read.
Zia received bullets in the head and belly during the exchange of shots, it said, adding that police with the help of locals took him to Khulna Medical College Hospital, where he was declared dead around 4:30am.
Police recovered a pipe-gun, a pistol, four bullets and 50 pieces of contraband Yaba tablets from the spot, the release said.
An on-duty doctor at the KMCH emergency department said that Zia was brought to the hospital dead around 4:30am.
KMCH is about 10 kilometres from South Bangla Residential Project.
Earlier, Thursday afternoon, Zia’s elder brother Abdur Rahim Sana at a press conference at Khulna Press Club alleged that a uniformed and two or three plainclothes police personnel picked his brother from the corridor of Khulna chief metropolitan magistrate court around 10:50am and took him to an unknown place by a car.
He said that Zia never went into hiding and went to court on Thursday morning to appear before the court in a case filed over a clash.
As he remained traceless, he said, they looked for him at different police stations but could not get his whereabouts.
Abdur Rahim wanted to know which law allowed the arrest of a man from court premises while he went there to appear in a case.
Zia’s lawyer Mrinal Das said that he informed the chief metropolitan magistrate court that his client’s family told him that his client was picked up from the court premises.
A court official told New Age that Zia’s lawyer had informed the court about the surrender of his client and had submitted documents with the client’s thumb stamp to the chief metropolitan magistrate court Thursday morning.