Former vice-president of Barisal BM College students union Mashiul Alam Sentu was killed in a 'gunfight' between his accomplices and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-8) members early yesterday at Kashipur in Barisal.Sentu, 35, also a vice president of BNP-backed Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) central committee and JCD's Barisal city unit president, was shot dead one day after his arrest.
Lt Commander AKM Mamunur Rashid of Rab-8 in Barisal said Rab-3 personnel arrested Sentu at Katabon area of Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon.
"During interrogation, Sentu confessed where his stock of arms was hidden in Barisal. He was then taken to Barisal and handed over to Rab-8 at Mawa Ghat early yesterday," Rashid said.
The Rab-8 members took Sentu to Kashipur Bilbobari in Barisal to recover the hidden arms but as they reached the area, Sentu's accomplices opened fire on them.
Rab retaliated with gunshots leading to a short gunfight at around 4:15 am.
"Sentu was shot dead as he tried to escape at the time,'" Rashid said. Two Rab members were also injured and a Rab car damaged at the time.
A Rab press release yesterday said that Rab recovered Sentu's body after the gunfight along with one AK-47 rifle, a shutter gun, a revolver and a home made gun, from the scene.
Sentu was a known criminal in Barisal city and an accused in 19 cases, including four for murder. He had been in hiding since launch of the anti-crime operations.
However, Sentu's family claims that all cases lodged against Sentu were politically motivated and that he had been acquitted of all of them.
Meanwhile JCD leaders and activists protested the incident by bringing out a procession on the DU campus that ended with a rally rear Dhaka University Central Students' Union building.
Talking to The Daily Star, DU unit General Secretary of JCD Saiful Islam Feroz alleged that Sentu has been killed following a conspiracy by a vested quarter to realise their interests in the upcoming Barisal City Corporation polls.
He demanded proper investigation into the incident.
However a section of JCD activists yesterday expressed hope that the organisation would now be spared the blame of patronising terrorism and create new leadership free from the clutches of someone like Sentu.