108 Rohingyas held in Cox\\\'s Bazar

BGB member shot at

COX'S BAZAR, Mar 6 (UNB): BGB arrested 108 Rohingyas by intercepting three jeeps on Cox's Bazar-Teknaf highway in Ukhiya upazila during a drive Friday.

The detained Rohingyas were reportedly trying to travel to Cox's Bazar after their illegal infiltration into Bangladesh through the Bangladesh-Myanmar land-border in the upazila.

A clash also broke out between members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the human trafficking gang during the interception, leaving a BGB member injured with bullets.

The injured was identified as Subedar Fazlul Haque of BGB border outpost at Panbazar in Ukhiya. He was airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka by a helicopter.

BGB Battalion-17 commanding officer Lt Col Saiful Islam Khan said that on secret information that some Rohingyas were travelling from Teknaf to Cox's Bazar by 6 to 7 jeeps - locally known as 'Chander Gari' - a team of BGB Panbazar border outpost, led by Subedar

Fazlul Haque, went on a patrol on Cox's Bazar-Teknaf highway.

Around 10:00 am, the BGB team intercepted three jeeps on the highway and arrested 108 Rohingyas from the vehicles.

Sensing presence of the border force, the remaining three to four jeeps made a U-turn and fled the scene while the local cohorts of the human trafficking cartel, allegedly led by Palankhali union parishad chairman and local BNP leader Gafur Uddin, obstructed the BGB men by throwing brick chips and firing gunshots from a distance.

Lt Col Saiful said the BGB members gave the attackers a hot chase and arrested Mr Alamgir from the spot. He is the general secretary of BNP's ward No. 1 unit of Palankhali union parishad in the upazila.

The detained Rohingyas were sent to Gungdhung border outpost of BGB and will gradually be pushed back to Myanmar, he added.