Criminals shot dead a man at Doyamohan Karbari Para in Khagrachhari Sadar upazila yesterday.

The deceased, Surja Bikash Chakma, 53, hailing from Dakkhin Pankhya Para in Khagrachhari town, was shot in the chest around 4:00pm, locals said.

Surja was not involved with any political party but he contested for the chairman post at Kamalchhari union parishad (UP) with the support of United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF) in the last UP election, they said.

Police rushed to the spot and started collecting information.

Khagrachhari Superintendent of Police Ali Ahmed Khan also visited the spot.

Nipu Dewan, 34, a housewife of the house adjacent to the yard where the body was lying, said, “We were having rice inside when we heard a sound like a cracker blast. Many people throw crackers during the Biju festival. Later, I came out and saw the body lying.”

In November last year, some leaders and workers broke away from the UPDF and constituted another party named UPDF (Democratic).

Afterwards, the hill areas saw several incidents of abduction and murder.