A young man was shot dead and several others were wounded in repeated, bloody clashes between two rival groups over local dominance and a long-running feud in Raipura, Narsingdi, police said.
The clashes broke out early Tuesday (June 16) in the Haripur and Darigaon areas of Nilakkha union in the upazila’s char (riverine) belt, between followers of the local Nazim Uddin group and the Alal Munshi group, police said.
The man killed, identified as Anik, 20, was the son of a local representative, Osman, from Darigaon Purbapara and a supporter of the Nazim Uddin group, according to police.
Police and local sources said followers of Alal Munshi and a representative, Joba, had stayed away from the area for a long time over the earlier feud. Early Tuesday, they entered Nilakkha union by speedboat with hired gunmen and launched a surprise attack on Nazim Uddin’s supporters, the sources said. The two sides then clashed with locally made weapons and firearms, and the fighting quickly spread to the Haripur and Darigaon areas. It continued in waves from dawn until about 10:30 a.m. Anik was shot in the head during the fighting. Critically wounded, he was given initial treatment locally before relatives took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where a doctor declared him dead. Two others were wounded by gunfire in the same incident: Raju, 28, and Mostafa, 60. Several more people were also wounded, and some of the injured were sent to Dhaka for treatment, sources said. The identities of the other injured were not immediately known.
Police, upazila administration officials and members of law enforcement brought the situation under control after being informed, police said. Additional police have been deployed in the area, where an uneasy calm prevails.
On December 8 last year, a clash between supporters of the Nazim Uddin and Alal Munshi groups over the same feud left a Kuwait-based expatriate, Mamun Mia, 25, dead of a gunshot wound and at least 10 people injured, police said. Mamun was also a supporter of the Nazim Uddin group. A case was filed against the rival side after that incident. Local residents said Tuesday’s bloodshed stemmed from the return of Alal group members to the area in the aftermath of that earlier clash.
Raipura Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md. Masud Rana said the situation was under control. “Law enforcement agencies are carrying out search operations to arrest those involved. Legal action will be taken against the accused,” he said.
Raipura Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Prabir Kumar Ghosh said one person had been killed and several others wounded in the clash between the two sides over the earlier feud. “The situation is now normal. Additional police have been deployed in the area to keep the law and order situation under control,” he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report