Staff Reporter :At least 15 people were injured, five of them received bullet wounds, in a fierce clash between two rival groups of ruling Awami League at Moralpara of Akua in Mymensingh Sadar upazila on Saturday.Of the injured, the condition of Jubo League leader Md Mostafa was stated to be critical. He received bullet injuries in the neck. He has been brought to Dhaka for better treatment. Witnesses said that the clash erupted between the two rival groups, one led by Afaj Uddin Sarkar, brother of Religious Affairs Minister Motiur Rahman, and another led by Jubo League leader Md Shaheenur, a close associate of Mymensingh Municipal Mayor Ekramul Hoque Tipu, over maintaining supremacy in the area.Police said, a group of ruling party men led by Shaheenur attacked the office of Afaj Uddin Sarkar, who is also chairman of Akua Union Parishad and president of District Swechhasebok League.At this another group of ruling party men led by Afaj Uddin Sarkar and Mahitur Rahman Shanto, son of Religious Affairs Minister Motiur Rahman, conducted counter attack on Shaheenur’s residence yesterday noon igniting a gun battle between two sides, police added. When contacted, Officer-in Charge of Kotwali Sadar Police Station Fazlul Karim said, “The reason behind the clash was long-standing rivalry between the two groups over establishing supremacy in the area. The both sides were locked into clashes for several times in the past. But the Saturday’s clash was the worst.”Police arrested six persons in connection with the incident. A huge contingent of police has been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward situation, the OC said.
