The key accused in the journalist Mohiuddin Sarkar Nayeem murder case was killed in a reported gunfight with Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Cumilla Sadar Upazila early Sunday.

The deceased was identified as Md Raju, 35, a resident of Bishnupur village in Adorsho Sadar Upazila. Confirming the news, RAB-11 Company Captain Maj Mohammad Sakib Hossain said the gunfight took place around 2 am on Sunday at Golabari near the Bangladesh-India border.

Raju was accused in several cases related to drugs, firearms and smuggling, according to law enforcers. A RAB patrol team, on a tip-off that a gang of ‘armed criminals and drug traders ‘were staying at Golabari, conducted a raid in the area at 2:00am, he said.

Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, the miscreants there opened fire at them, who returned the fire, causing a ‘gunfight’. After the gunfight, a man was found lying on the ground with bullet wounds ,” he said. Later, he was rushed to the Cumilla Medical College Hospital, where the on duty doctor declared him dead.

Mentioning that, a RAB member was injured in the fight, he said the elite force recovered arms and ammunition from the scene. Mohiuddin Sarker Naim, a staff reporter with a local newspaper named ‘Cumillar Dak’, was shot dead by suspected drug peddlers at Hayderabadnagar border in the upazila on Wednesday night.

On Thursday, a murder case was filed at the Burichang police station on a complaint from the deceased journalist Mohiuddin Sarker’s mother Najma Akter.