Sand miners opened fire on locals who attempted to stop illegal sand extraction from the Meghna River in Bhola on Saturday, injuring four people and three of them with bullet wounds.
The injured were Shajahan Mir, 70, Md Ali, Apurba Patwari, and Shafiur Rahman.
The attack occurred around 11:30am in the Bhabanipur Char area of Meghna under Kachia union in Bhola Sadar.
A resident of the area, A Sattar, said that a dredger had been illegally extracting sand from an erosion-prone area outside the Meghna government sand mining zone since morning.
More than a hundred people in two trawlers blocked the dredger and notified district and upazila authorities.
The police and magistrates were dispatched, but before they arrived, a group of armed sand miners in a speedboat attacked the protesters and opened fire.
Locals later rescued them and took them to the Bhola 250-bed General Hospital.
Hospital superintendent Dr Taibur Rahman said that three gunshot victims were admitted and were receiving proper treatment. 鈥楢ll are out of danger.鈥�
According to Sattar and Shajahan Mir, 6鈥�7 armed men led by Choket Jamal and Shahin carried out the attack.
However, Choket Jamal, Jamal Uddin Choket, denied the attack and the shooting, saying that there was a planned conspiracy against him.
鈥楴o sand is extracted from outside the government sand pit. Neither he nor his nephew was in the area at the time of the incident.鈥�
Assistant commissioner, land, SM Mashiur Rahman said that the shooting took place before officials reached the scene.
鈥楾he dredger has since been removed, and a case will be filed over the incident.鈥�
Bhola model police officer-in-charge Abu Shahadat Md Hachanain Parvez said that the police had launched an investigation and would take legal action against those involved.