Joint forces on Friday handed over 56 people, rescued from a suspected human trafficking hideout in the hills of Rongikhali in Hnila union of Teknaf, to police. Later in the day, three bodies were found in the same hills as the operation continued.
However, six suspected members of the trafficking gang detained during the operation had not been handed over to police as of 5:00 pm on Friday, and no case had been filed against them, said Saiful Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Teknaf Model Police Station.
He said the rescued people were handed over to the police station on Friday morning, and officials were verifying their identities and other information.
The operation, carried out jointly by the Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police, took place on Thursday afternoon. Army soldier Md Titas Sheikh, 27, was killed in a gunfight with the gang.
Police found three bodies on Friday afternoon in the hills east of Nayapara and Leda camps in Hnila union.
Cox’s Bazar Superintendent of Police Sajedur Rahman confirmed the matter, saying police had received information about the bodies and that efforts were underway to recover them.
Law enforcement agencies continued operations at the site, he said. Nothing has yet been disclosed about the identities of the dead or the cause of death.
According to a press release from the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR), intelligence information indicated that an armed trafficking group of around 15 to 16 members was holding nearly 120 Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals captive in the steep hills of Rongikhali.
A joint team of personnel from the Army’s 10 Infantry Division, BGB and local police was formed to conduct the operation.
The traffickers reportedly detected the team’s presence when it reached the area at around 5:00 pm and opened fire indiscriminately, triggering a gunfight. Titas Sheikh was shot in the left shoulder and critically injured.
He was given initial treatment at a nearby hospital and later taken to Ramu Combined Military Hospital (CMH), where the duty doctor declared him dead, the ISPR said. The Army paid tribute to the soldier and expressed condolences to his family.
“Soldier Mohammad Titas Sheikh, 27, was killed after armed members of the human trafficking gang opened fire during the operation,” OC Saiful Islam said. “Legal procedures are underway over the death of the army soldier.”
The joint forces recovered a pistol, a locally made firearm and four rounds of ammunition from the scene.
The OC said 57 people were initially reported rescued on Thursday, but one was later found during verification to be a member of the trafficking network, so the number of rescued victims was revised to 56.
Five suspected traffickers were initially reported detained; the number now stands at six.
Asaduzzaman, one of those rescued, said traffickers took him to the area with a promise of a job and kept him confined in a makeshift hut in the hills for eight days.
SM Anik Chowdhury, Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer, said law enforcement agencies were working to arrest the armed members of the gang operating in the hills. “Local people’s cooperation is also needed alongside the efforts of law enforcement agencies to eliminate such criminal activities,” he said.
Cox’s Bazar Life Report
