SUNAMGANJ — At least 30 people were injured in a clash between residents of two villages in Sunamganj’s Jagannathpur upazila over a battery-powered auto-rickshaw stand and a fare dispute, police said. The clash lasted about an hour and a half.
The clash took place Saturday afternoon at Khararpar in the Chilaura-Haldipur union, between residents of Swajanshri and Baudhran villages.
Police and local sources said that about 15 days ago, the Ranigonj west bazaar transport stand authority raised the fare on the Ranigonj-to-Baudhran route from 30 taka to 40 taka. The increase angered residents of Baudhran and Swajanshri villages. Saleh Uddin Ahmad, a Chilaura-Haldipur union council member from Baudhran village, then set the fare back at 30 taka. That deepened the dispute among auto-rickshaw drivers in both villages.
As a result, on Friday afternoon, auto-rickshaws from Swajanshri were ordered out of the transport stand in the Mujib Market area of Baudhran village. In protest, residents of both villages clashed Saturday morning, armed with locally made weapons. Police reached the scene on word of the violence and brought the situation under control with help from residents.
Badruddoja, the duty doctor in the emergency department of Jagannathpur Upazila Health Complex, said 30 injured people were treated there. Twelve were in critical condition and were sent to Sylhet M A G Osmani Medical College Hospital, he said.
Shafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Jagannathpur police station, said the situation is now calm. No written complaint has yet been filed, he said, adding that legal action will follow if a complaint is received.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report