Two factions of Awami League are blaming each other over the killing of a party activist in Nandail upazila headquarters on Thursday night.
A clash between the two AL factions — one led by former AL lawmaker Maj Gen (retd) Abdus Salam and another by incumbent ruling party MP Anwarul Abedin Khan left an activist dead and 15 others injured at Nandail in Mymensingh.
The victim, Abul Mansur Bhuiyan, 60, was elder brother of Sirajul Islam Bhuiyan, general secretary of Nandail upazila AL and former upazila chairman.
Mansur and Sirajul are followers of former AL lawmaker Maj Gen (retd) Abdus Salam, who allegedly has rivalry with incumbent party MP Anwarul Abedin Khan.
The clash ensued as followers of Anwarul allegedly attacked a rally organised by Salam’s men at Nandail sub-registry office premises. The former lawmaker was
present at the programme as chief guest.
Mansur, who suffered spear wounds in the shoulder and chest, was taken to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (MMCH), where he succumbed to his injuries around 9:30pm.
The injured party men are undergoing treatment at the local health complex and clinics. The body was sent to MMCH morgue for autopsy.
Contacted, Maj Gen (retd) Abdus Salam said, “I am in AL politics here for 20 years but never faced such a situation. I stopped arms politics in Nandail but the present lawmaker made the political situation vulnerable.”
“Brick bats were hurled at me but I am luckily unhurt. I have already organized several meetings with party leaders and activists in the upazila. As a part the meeting, Ward party men organized meeting Thursday evening but the rival group attacked it at its fag end,” Abdus Salam alleged.
Anwarul Abedin Khan, MP who was in Dhaka said that when Abdus Salam in his speech started to scold me roughly, Jubo League men loyal to me who were sitting at Achargaon Bridge area, some 200 yards away from the venue, chanted slogans against Salam but they did not move to the venue.
At one stage, Salam’s men chased them with fire arms and sharp weapons. Later Jubo League men, being supported by people of nearby village locked in chases and counter chases resulting in a clash with Salam’s men. Abul Mansur Bhuiyan was killed in attack by Salam’s men during the clash, claimed the MP.
I urged the local administration and police to take necessary steps as an uneasy situation was prevailing here, he said.
Three persons were arrested from the spot in this connection. Those are Iqbal Hussain of village Surasram, Md. Habibur Rahman of Village Orannapasha and Md. Sukkar Ali of Village Rajgathi. They are being interrogated at Nandail Police Station.
Md. Saiful Islam Farazi Officer-in-Charge of Nandail Pollice Station said no case was lodged till filing of this report around 3.00 pm yesterday. Section 144 is continuing, said the police official.
