A member of the Jana Samhati Samiti (JSS) was killed in a reported shootout with the Bangladesh Army in Rangamati.
The incident took place on the Kaptai Lake in Dhulyachhari area in the early hours of Monday.
The deceased identified as Bilton Chakma, 48, was an active member of JSS’s Santu group and a notorious extortionist in the region, ISPR confirmed the matter in a handout.
According to the ISPR, a special patrol team from Jibtali Army Camp, set out to investigate a tip-off about JSS men extorting money from local fishermen on the Kaptai Lake.
After arriving at the scene, the patrol team spotted JSS men engaged in extorting.
Seeing the army personnel arrive, the JSS men opened fire and attemped to escape the scene. The patrol team decided to retaliate in self-defence, forcing the armed criminals to jump in the lake and swim away.
Later, the patrol team searched the boat used by the criminals and found the bullet-riddled body of Bilton Chakma and recovered a foreign pistol with three rounds in the Magazine.
Meanwhile, the army has stepped up patrols in the area to arrest the fugitives.
