Bangladesh News

At least five people were killed and 20 others injured in a violent clash between two groups of villagers over capturing char (shoal) land in the Padma river at remote Char Kamalpur village in Ishwardi upazila yesterday.

Police and local sources said the clash erupted between Samad group and Kashem group around 12:00pm and continued for an hour. They attacked each other with guns, sticks, iron rods and other lethal weapons.

Three of the deceased were identified by police as Ayub Hossain alias Ayet Pramanik, 48, son of Sattar Pramanik, Rashid Pramanik, 42, son of Jofur Pramanik of Kamalpur, and Moslem Uddin, 35, son of Yead Ali Malitha of Laxmikunda, and they were the supporters of Samad group.

Local sources said two other dead persons are Shirjan, 45, son of Nabir Uddin, and Amin Uddin, 35, son of Nazir Pramanik, who fought for Kashem group.

Ayub and Rashid died on the spot while Moslem succumbed to his injuries at Ishwardi hospital in the afternoon.

On information, police rushed to the spot and recovered the bodies. They also started raiding different areas of Char Kamalpur to nab the culprits.

Contacted, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Ishwardi Anisuzzaman confirmed the death of five people in the clash. Some injured people fled to neighbouring Kushtia district to avoid arrest and two of them died there, he added.

But the ASP could not confirm the identity of the two deceased.

He said the raid was still going on in the late afternoon and the situation was now under control.

Both the groups have a long-standing dispute over shoal land and tension mounted in the remote area following the clash, said Laxmikunda UP chairman Torab Ali.

Police superintendent of Pabna Md Jamil Ahmed also visited the scene of the clash.

However, the number of arrestees could not be known immediately. Additional police forces were deployed in the area to avert any untoward situation.

However, there are different versions about the identity of the rival groups. Local Laxmikunda union parishad (UP) chairman Torab Ali claimed that the rival groups are the two factions of local Awami League. Another source, however, said Samad group belongs to AL while Kashem group belongs to BNP.