Senior ASP Kamruzzaman of Rab-1 said Maharaz Khalifa, 40, a drug trader from Banani area, was killed in a gunfight with the elite force at Satarkul in Badda around 1:15am.
A Rab-1 team raided the area after being tipped off that Khalifa and his associates were there for drug dealings. The criminals opened fire as soon as the Rab team reached the spot, triggering a gunfight, Kamruzzaman said.
Khalifa, wounded in the gunfight, was arrested and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Doctors pronounced him dead around 3:15am.
Two firearms and 300 yaba pills were recovered from the spot. A member of Rab was injured during the skirmish, the ASP said.
In another incident, Byanga Babu, 38, second-in-command of the notorious ‘Shahadat Bahini’ was killed in an alleged gunfight with Rab in Mirpur’s Beribadh area.
Babu, who had fled to India few years ago, recently returned to Dhaka to take part in a killing mission, said Major Kazi Saifuddin Ahmed, second-in-command of Rab-4.
Acting on a tip-off, a Rab team went to the spot. Babu was killed in an ensuing gunfight between Rab and the criminals around 3:15am.
He was wanted in 20 cases, including at least seven for murder, said Rab.
A pistol, a magazine and a bullet were recovered from the spot.