Maksudul Haque Chowdhury Masud, a senior joint convener of the Rangunia upazila unit of Jubo Dal, was shot dead in broad daylight by assailants in Raozan, Chattogram, police said. The killing took place around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday in the Pahartali Chowmuhani area of Raozan upazila.
Masud, 45, was from Betagi union in the neighboring Rangunia upazila. He was the son of the late Khaled Chowdhury of the area and was a prospective chairman candidate from Betagi union in the upcoming union parishad election.
Local sources said that while Masud was in Pahartali Chowmuhani in Raozan around midday, the assailants opened fire on him. He died on the spot. Residents believe the killing may have been linked to a dispute over the sand business.
As news of the killing spread through Rangunia and Raozan, intense anger erupted among Jubo Dal leaders and activists and the general public in the two upazilas. In protest, angry activists and supporters set tires on fire and blocked the Kaptai road in the Ichakhali (Rangunia) and Pahartali (Raozan) areas. From about 1 p.m., all kinds of vehicle movement on the Kaptai road came to a halt.
Angry protesters said their demonstration and road blockade would continue until those involved in the killing were arrested without delay. On humanitarian grounds, only emergency service vehicles, including ambulances, were being allowed through.
On learning of the incident, Rangunia’s member of parliament, Hossam Kader Chowdhury, set off for the scene, it was reported.
Raozan police station’s officer-in-charge (OC), Saiful Islam, confirmed the incident and said police rushed to the scene as soon as they received word that the Jubo Dal leader had been shot dead. Efforts were under way to bring the situation under control, he said. At the same time, an operation had begun to identify and arrest those involved.
Until the latest reports, intense tension prevailed in the border areas of the two upazilas along the Kaptai road, and activists’ anger continued. Additional police had been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward situation.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report