Two alleged auto-rickshaw lifters were killed in a ‘shootout’ between their cohorts and Rapid Action Battalion members on the outskirts of Kushtia town early Sunday.
The deceased are Zia and Milon Hossain of Chourhash in the town, reports our Kushtia correspondent.
Rab sources said the elite force members received information that a gang hijacked a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Gazipur and moved to the Kushtia-Khulna highway.
Being informed by Gazipur Rab, members of Rab-12 went to Bhadalia and challenged an auto-rickshaw passing the highway.
The three-wheelers plunged into a roadside ditch after being chased by the Rab men.
Five lifters went out of the auto-rickshaw and opened fire on the elite force members around 2:30am, forcing them to fire back that triggered a ‘gunfight’, said Lt Abdullah Al Mehedi, commander of Rab-12, Kushtia unit.
Two of the gang was caught in the line of fire and died on the spot while the rest three managed to flee the scene, he said.