UNB, Noakhali :
At least 27 people have been arrested in connection with Tuesday’s clash between two rival factions of Awami League in Noakhali, officials said Wednesday.
The clash between supporters of Quader Mirza and other Awami League activists in Noakhali’s Companiganj upazila left one person dead and more than 30 others injured.
The 27 suspects have been nabbed from different parts of the upazila, officials said.
Meanwhile, the local administration has imposed prohibitory orders in the Basurhat municipality area in the wake of the clash.
Companiganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mohamamd Ziaul Haque Mir said that the prohibitory orders would remain in force till 12 am on Wednesday.
“We have enforced the emergency Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which prohibits assembly of four or more people, apprehending more clashes between the two rival factions,” he said.
Shops and bazaar in the Basurhat municipality area will also remain closed, the UNO added.
The clash erupted between the two rival factions around 6 pm in Companiganj,
when some Awami League supporters were agitating in protest against the harassment of freedom fighter Khijir Hayat Khan allegedly by Quader Mirza.
Mirza’s nephew Fakhrul Islam Rahat, a Khan loyalist, alleged that supporters of his uncle hurled improvised bombs on the protesters and also fired shots to disperse them.
Alauddin, 20, an activist of local unit Jubo League and son of Mominul Haque of Charfakira union, was shot dead, while the 30 others sustained injuries.
Of the injured, eight people suffered bullet wounds. Seven of them are still undergoing treatment at Noakhali General Hospital, while one has been referred to a hospital in Dhaka after his condition worsened.
Alauddin’s body has been sent to Noakhali General Hospital morgue for an autopsy.
Earlier, a young man died and at least 5 others were shot during a deadly intra-factional clash between supporters of Quader Mirza and other Awami League activists in Noakhali on Tuesday.
Police identified the injured as Md Aziz Khokon, 50, Md Karim, 45, Md Rajib Hossain, 24, Md Emran Hossain, 24, Jinku, 20, and Raihan, 20. They are being treated at Noakhali General Hospital. Raihan succumbed to his injuries while being taken to Dhaka. Both factions have claimed that the victim was their supporter.
Clashes erupted around 6pm at Companiganj upazila where Awami League supporters were holding rally protesting against the harassment of freedom fighter Khijir Hayat Khan allegedly by Quader Mirza.
Mirza’s nephew Fakhrul Islam Rahat, a Khan loyalist, said Mirza’s supporters hurled improvised bombs and fired shots at the rally.
Witnesses said they had heard sounds of explosions and gunshots during the running battle.
Quader Mirza, the younger brother of Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, said that the “general people thwarted” miscreants who had vandalised the “Mujib Borsho” celebration stage.
Companiganj Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge Meer Zahedul Haque Rony said the situation was under control.
