Dhaka, Nov 6 ( IANS) At least five activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were injured in a gun attack allegedly carried out by rival faction of the party amid a dispute over local dominance in Raozan upazila of Chattogram district, local media reported.
According to the police and locals, the incident unfolded on Wednesday night in the Chowdhurypara area of Bagowan union in Raozan.
The injured were identified as Abdullah Sumon, general secretary of the upazila unit of Sramik Dal, the labour wing of the BNP and activists Ismail, Khorshed, Rubel and Sohel.
All five victims are currently undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), and are reportedly in critical condition
Citing locals, Bangladeshi media outlet UNB reported that a group of unidentified assailants came on motorcycles and in a car before unleashing indiscriminate gunfire on the BNP activists.
Locals alleged that police reached the scene about an hour and a half after the shooting, causing panic among residents in the area.
They claimed that the violence erupted from a feud between two local BNP factions over establishing supremacy.
Confirming the development, the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Md Belayet Hossain of the Raozan–Rangunia Circle said that police had been deployed in the area to prevent any further unrest, and an investigation has been launched..
Earlier on Wednesday, BNP’s Chattogram-8 candidate Ershad Ullah sustained bullet injuries during a campaign event in the city’s Bayezid area,while one of his associates, Sarwar Babla, was killed in the gun attack.
Additionally, on October 25, local Jubo Dal leader Md Alamgir Alam was shot dead in a similar gun attack in the same Raozan upazila.
Furthermore, on October 28, one person was killed and 15 others were injured in Chattogram after a gunfight broke out between two factions of the BNP’s youth wing.
The deceased was identified as a 22-year-old Md. Sajjad, a member of BNP's student wing Chhatra Dal.
Reports suggest that over the past year, at least 17 people, including 12 BNP activists, four Chhatra and Jubo League men, and one expatriate, have been killed in the upazila.
BNP has also witnessed a surge in violence, with factional clashes leaving several injured.
Khaleda Zia's BNP was hand in glove with the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus to overthrow the democratically elected government of the Awami League.
It emerged as the largest political party in Bangladesh after the fall of the arch-rival Sheikh Hasina. However, since then, BNP has had a growing fissure within itself that led to violent clashes amongst them during which many leaders were killed and several were injured.
--IANS
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