Dhaka, Oct 28 At least one person was killed and 15 others were injured in Chittagong early on Tuesday after a gunfight erupted between two factions of the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
The deceased was identified as a 22-year-old Md. Sajjad, a member of BNP's student wing Chhatra Dal.
Speaking to Bangladesh's Bengali daily Prothom Alo, Baklia Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ikhtiyar Uddin stated that the violence reportedly broke out on early Tuesday following a dispute over the tearing of a banner.
He confirmed that one person was killed in the shooting and several others were injured, adding that a drive is underway to arrest those responsible.
Citing party sources, Prothom Alo reported that the gunfire took place between Emdadul Haque Badsha, the former organising secretary of the defunct Nagar Jubo Dal committee and followers of former Nagar Chhatra Dal president Gazi Siraj Ullah.
The clash reportedly stemmed from an incident when Siraj's followers, Borhan Uddin and Nazrul Islam Sohel, allegedly abducted and assaulted Emdadul's follower, Jubo Dal activist Md. Jasim.
Reports suggest that following a directive from Chattogram City Corporation Mayor and former city BNP president Shahadat Hossain, Jasim and others removed several banners in Bakalia and other areas, including one featuring photos of Shahadat, Siraj, and Borhan.
"Borhan had hung banners featuring Siraj and others. When Mayor Shahadat ordered those to be removed, Borhan's men abducted Jasim. They opened fire when our men went to rescue him," Emdadul said, speaking to reporters.
BNP has 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.
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