Four suspected members of a Rohingya group allegedly involved in kidnapping for ransom were killed in a gunfight with Bangladeshi police near the sprawling refugee camps where refugees from Myanmar live, according to an officials.
The gunfight took place Friday when a team of security officials was searching for the gang leader in a forest near the Rohingya camps at Cox’s Bazar, said police Inspector Pradeep Kumar Das.
Morzina Akhter, said the suspects opened fire at police, sparking the gunfight that led to their deaths.
According to authorities and local media reports, the gang led by Abdul Hakim has kidnapped many locals for ransom and killed those whose families failed to pay.
While human rights groups acknowledge there are criminal elements among some of the Rohingya refugees, they have urged authorities to thoroughly investigate such cases.
In March, police fatally shot seven suspected members of a Rohingya gang allegedly involved in drug dealing and human trafficking.
Nearly one million Rohingya live in squalid camps near Bangladesh’s border with Myanmar, many fleeing the neighbouring country after a brutal military crackdown began in 2017.
(With inputs from agency)