Four Rohingya alleged top robbers killed in ‘gunfight’

Four people – including two brothers of alleged top robber Abdul Hakim, a Rohingya man – were killed in a "gunfight" with police in the hills on the Ukhiya-Teknaf border in Cox's Bazar.

Cox's Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Iqbal Hossain said the gunfight took place at the deep hills of Chepatkhali in Mankhali on the Ukhiya-Teknaf border on Friday afternoon.

The deceased are: Bashir Ahmed, Md. Hamid, Md. Rafiq, and Rainga. They were allegedly associates of Abdul Hakim.

They were all residents of Rohingya refugee camps in Teknaf and there were multiple cases filed against them with the police – including for rape, robbery and murder. The deceased allegedly terrorised the camps. 

ASP Iqbal Hossain said "The district police is continuing its operation to nab Abdul Hakim and his accomplices."

On Friday morning, it was reported that Abdul Hakim and his gang were trading yaba and weapons in the Mankhali area of ​​the Teknaf-Ukhiya border. After hearing that, the police went there. 

"The robbers opened fire in the presence of the police. When some members of the police were injured, the police fired back. At one stage, the robbers retreated and entered the mountain. Later, the bodies of four robbers were recovered from the area," the ASP said.

The ASP added that two of the deceased are the brothers of Abdul Hakim and the other two are his alleged accomplices. Abdul Hakim escaped from the scene but four weapons, 20 rounds of ammunition and 40,000 yaba pills were recovered from there. The operation is ongoing to catch Hakim. A case is pending under a separate law in this regard.

In the last few months, the top robber allegedly kidnapped seven locals. Two of them were brutally killed. Since then, the police have been on the hunt to catch him. 

As of this year, till June 26, a total of 47 people have been killed in gun battles with law enforcement. Among them were 26 alleged robbers. The rest were drug dealers. Last Friday, four alleged robbers and an alleged yaba trader, including Hakim's brothers, were killed.