COX'S BAZAR, Feb 24: Dozens of miscreants clashed with members of the air force in Cox's Bazar on Monday following an altercation at a checkpoint, leaving one youth dead and several others injured.
The incident took place at Samitipara of the municipality near the under-construction airbase around noon. Confirming the matter, Cox's Bazar deputy commissioner Mohammad Salauddin said one was killed and several others were injured in the incident.
The deceased youth was identified as Shihab Kabir Nahid (30). However, the identities of the injured could not be ascertained immediately, according to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital Police Box in-charge Saiful Islam.
Samitipara residents said a meeting was scheduled between airmen and representatives of the locals for Monday afternoon to relocate them to another place in order to acquire land for the Cox's Bazar airport's expansion.
For this, Samitipara resident Md Zahid and others were going to the district administration office on an easy bike around 12 noon. The vehicle was stopped at an air force checkpoint.
Zahid was asked to get out of the vehicle, leading to an argument between them.
"As the air force men tried to take Zahid away, the locals gathered the scene and attacked the personnel, resulting in a clash," according to the inhabitants.
At one stage, blank shots were fired to disperse the locals. Some 10-15 people sustained injuries. Later, locals took some of them to Cox's Bazar District Sadar Hospital, where the on-duty doctor declared one of them dead.
Meanwhile, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said some miscreants launched an ambush in Samitipara, adjacent to the Cox's Bazar Air Force base, reports UNB.
According to an ISPR release, the incident ensued as a local man was stopped at an air force checkpoint near Biam School and he was taken inside the base for questioning for lack of proper documents for his motorcycle.
Shortly after, an estimated 200 residents from 'Samitipara' gathered near the base, leading to a confrontation with air force personnel.
As tensions escalated, a clash ensued, during which miscreants allegedly encouraged by ill-intentioned groups hurled bricks and stones at air force members, injuring several personnel.
Four air force members-one officer and three airmen-sustained injuries in the attack, reads the ISPR statement. Besides, local youth Nahid suffered critical injuries and was transported to a hospital in an air force vehicle, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
To safeguard the base, which is a strategically significant installation, air force personnel fired blank rounds in accordance with standard "Rules of Engagement," cited the statement.
However, the ISPR clarified that no live ammunition was used against the protesters. The agency also addressed claims circulating on social media alleging that Nahid was shot by air force personnel, calling them "entirely false."
The Bangladesh Air Force extended its condolences to the deceased's family.
The ISPR also pointed out that some news portals and social media posts had misrepresented the base's official name as 'Bangladesh Air Force Base Sheikh Hasina'.
It clarified that the base was officially renamed "Bangladesh Air Force Base Cox's Bazar" through a government gazette on 02 December 2021. The name has remained unchanged.
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