2 killed in \\\'gun battles\\\'

Two allaged criminals were killed in separate incidents of gun battles with police in Pabna and Comilla districts on Thursday. A mugger was killed in a gunfight between his cohorts and cops in Gokulnagar village under Ishwardi Upazila in Pabna early Thursday. The dead is Jahangir Hossain, 27, son of Mamtaj Malitha, a resident of the village. Police said a gang of miscreants snatched away valuables from passengers of different vehicles at gunpoint on the Ishwardi-Rajshahi Highway beside Raju Cinema Hall around 2:30am. Being informed, a police team rushed in. Sensing the presence of police, the muggers opened fire on them, forcing the lawenforcers to retaliate, triggering a gun battle, leaving Jahangir injured. He was rushed to the upazila health complex where doctor referred him to Pabna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) but he died on the way. In Comilla, robber Azad Khan, 23, a resident of Comilla city’s Ashoktala area, was killed in a 'gunfight' with Detective Brach (DB) of police in Alekharchar in Comilla Sadar Upazila in the morning. Tipped off, a team of detectives conducted a drive in the area to arrest some robbers around 2:40am. Sensing the presence of the police, Azad and accompanies opened fire on them, promoting the detectives to fire back, triggering a gunfight. Azad sustained bullet injuries in the line of fire and died on his way to a local hospital, according to a news agency.