Three Bangladeshi youths from Madaripur district were reportedly shot dead by an alleged human trafficking gang in Libya while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Italy.
The victims are Munna Talukdar of Durgabaddi village under Rajair upazila, Baizid Sheikh of Ghoshlakandi village, and Imran Khan of Adityapur village under Sadar upazila in Madaripur.
Imran’s sister Fatima Khatun said that they came to know about the deaths on Wednesday from a villager, Moksed Khan, the uncle of a local middleman named Shipon.
She said that the incident occurred on November 1 when the three attempted to cross the sea in a motorised boat.
According to her, the trafficking gang shot the victims after a middleman allegedly failed to pay them the agreed amount.
She said that each family had paid Tk 22 lakh to send the youths to Italy.
Madaripur additional superintendent of police Jahangir Alam said that they were aware of the incident, but no case had been filed so far.
‘The police will take legal action if any family submits a formal complaint,’ he added.
Bangladesh ambassador to Libya, Major General Abul Hasnat Mohammad Khairul Bashar, said that nine Bangladeshis had died in the Mediterranean Sea within a week in boat capsizes.
‘I have not found any confirmed cases of shooting,’ he said, adding that only one body had so far been identified at a local hospital.
