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Joint forces launch sweeping operation in Teknaf hills
Published : Saturday, 7 November, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Observer Online Report
Joint forces have launched a sweeping operation against human traffickers, kidnappers and armed robbers in the Leda and Rongikhali hills of Teknaf in Cox's Bazar, conducting a massive search operation on Saturday.
Several hundred members of the Army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), police and SRB took part in the operation from morning until noon.
The operation came after reports spread on Friday that three bodies were lying in the remote hills. However, joint forces searched the area for an extended period but found no bodies.
Local resident Nabi Hossain, who joined the search, said no bodies were found despite hours of searching with law enforcement personnel. Only some cooking pots and bedding were recovered. He added that the hilly terrain was so inaccessible that finding bodies there would be difficult.
Another local resident, Shahidul Islam, said the hilly areas of Teknaf had become hideouts for kidnappers, human traffickers and armed robbers, leaving residents living in fear. He alleged that members of criminal gangs frequently abducted people, sometimes even taking them from their homes at gunpoint.
He also recalled that Army soldier Titas Sheikh was killed on Thursday during an operation against human traffickers when armed criminals opened fire on joint forces.
Shahidul welcomed Saturday's operation and called for continued action until human trafficking, kidnapping and armed criminal networks were eliminated from the hills.
Officer-in-Charge of Teknaf Model Police Station Saiful Islam said joint forces searched the remote hills of Leda and Rongikhali but found no bodies. Police also had no information about whether anyone had removed them.
Cox's Bazar Superintendent of Police ANM Sajedur Rahman said operations would continue as long as human trafficking persisted.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), intelligence agencies received information on November 5 that around 120 Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals were being held hostage in the deep hills of Rongikhali by an armed human trafficking gang comprising 15 to 16 members.
Based on the information, a joint operational team comprising the Army's 10 Infantry Division, Border Guard Bangladesh and local police reached the area at around 5PM that day. Sensing the presence of the joint forces, the armed traffickers opened indiscriminate fire, triggering an exchange of gunfire.
During the clash, Army soldier Titas Sheikh, 27, was shot in his left shoulder and seriously injured. He was initially taken to a nearby hospital as his condition deteriorated due to excessive blood loss. Later, he was transferred to Ramu Combined Military Hospital (CMH), where doctors declared him dead.
ISPR said the joint forces recovered a pistol, a locally made firearm and four rounds of ammunition from the scene. They also arrested five members of the trafficking gang and rescued 57 hostages.
- MaT
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, 01550707296
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Online-email: [email protected]
