At least 50 people were injured Friday night in a clash between two factions of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its affiliated organisations over dominance and extortion in Puran Bazar area of Chandpur town.
The violence broke out at about 6:00pm in Bou Bazar neighbourhood, with both groups engaging in hours of chase and counter-chase.
The clash resulted in vandalisation of several shops, local authorities said.
According to local residents and law enforcement, the two factions had been in dispute over extortion and territorial control. Though leaders had promised to resolve the issue peacefully, tensions escalated Friday evening.
Witnesses said that more than 200 people, armed with sticks and locally made weapons, launched a surprise attack on one group, led by local BNP leaders Rob Miji, Rana Miji, and Shafik Miji. Many people were beaten and hacked, resulting in severe injuries.
The emergency department at Chandpur鈥檚 250-bed general hospital reported that 35 of the injured received treatment there.
One of the injured, Mohammad Alam Khan, joint convener of the BNP鈥檚 youth wing Jubo Dal in Chandpur鈥檚 ward no 2, said that the clash began when Rob Miji and his son Rana demanded extortion from a local resident and assaulted him. When a youth tried to intervene, a physical altercation followed. Though community elders had assured a resolution, the situation worsened later that evening.
鈥楻ob Miji and his associates brought outsiders armed with weapons and vandalised shops in our area. When we tried to stop them, around 40-50 of us, including women, were beaten and injured,鈥� Alam added.
Later, police and army personnel were deployed to the scene and brought the situation under control.
Officer-in-charge Alamgir Hossain Roni of Chandpur model police station said that the police were taking legal action against those involved, based on complaints filed.
No arrests were immediately reported.