A Day After Deadly Clash in Narsingdi: Tension still runs high
There was the smell of something burnt even a kilometre from Narsingdi's Amirabad. It became stronger with every step towards the village. Along the way, four unexploded crude bombs were stuck on a tree branch.
This correspondent found an unusual calmness after he entered the village yesterday. At least 20 houses were burnt down there.
Armed with sticks, spears and other weapons, a few locals, however, were patrolling parts of the village to resist any further attack.
Amirabad is one of the villages in Raipura upazila's Nilokkha union where at least four people were killed and 50 others injured in a string of fierce clashes on Monday.
The clashes took place between the supporters of current and former union parishad chairmen over establishing supremacy.
Over 30 houses were completely destroyed.
The scene in Sonakandi, Haripur, Darigao and Gopinathpur villages in Nilokkha was quite similar to that of Amirabad.
Police were deployed nearby as tension was still high in the villages.
Some people were seen vandalising houses even when a group of journalists, including this correspondent, was visiting the areas yesterday.
Some of them asked the reporters to leave and “let them handle the situation themselves”.
Males were hardly seen in the villages.
The bodies of Mamun and Khokon, two of those killed in Monday's clashes, were handed over to their female family members who buried them later.
All the four slain, known as supporters of former UP chairman Abdul Haque, were buried in Amirabad and Sonakandi villages after Namaz-e-Janaza.
Talking to The Daily Star, their family members alleged that the local administration took the side of the current chairman during the clashes.
They demanded exemplary punishment for the attackers.
Khalil Ahmed of Amirabad village said criminals opened fire on the victims in presence of the police.
Contacted, Basir Uddin, assistant superintendent of police (Sadar Circle), rejected the allegation. He said several policemen were injured and that he himself narrowly escaped injuries.
“Supporters of Haque attacked the current chairman [Tajul Islam] and police tried to contain the situation,” he said.
As many as 50 people were arrested and some lethal weapons were seized.
Drives were underway to arrest the attackers and some 100 policemen were deployed to avoid any further violence, he said.
The police official said males, females and even children from both sides took part in the clashes.
Locals said such clashes were nothing new in the areas.
For example, when this correspondent visited Haripur village, he saw two brick-built buildings in ruins. They were destroyed three years ago during another clash.
Armed with crude bombs, spears and other weapons, the two feuding groups clashed several times since morning at Amirabad and Sonakandi villages in Nilokkha Union on Monday. Later, the clash spilled over to the other villages in the union.
The deceased were Mamun Mia, 40, and Shahjahan, 40 of Amirabad village, and Khokon, 35, and Rakib, 16, of Sonakandi village.
Meanwhile, four separate cases were filed in connection with Monday's clashes.
Police filed the cases with Raipura Police Station against over 150 unknown people.
Police and locals said there had been a longstanding rivalry between Awami League-backed Nilokkha UP Chairman Tajul Islam and former chairman Abdul Haque, also a ruling party leader, over establishing supremacy in the union.
Tension between the two rivals grew after the Union Parishad polls on April 19. Since then, their supporters have clashed at least 10 times.
THE WAY MONDAY'S CLASHES ENSUED
Sitting at a local bazar on Saturday, some men loyal to Tajul, who was involved in BNP politics in the past, threatened to completely destroy Haque's home.
Hearing about it, the supporters of Haque, an AL leader who had remained the local UP chairman for years, got furious. The next day, they attacked Tajul's home in Haripur village with spears and other weapons, said locals and police.
As Tajul's men tried to put up a resistance, a clash broke out, leaving five from both groups injured.
The attackers left but threatened to launch a “bigger attack” the next day.
On Monday, more than a thousand men from Haque's side carried out another attack on Tajul's home and vandalised it. During that time, Tajul's men opened fire and threw crude bombs, killing the four, added the locals and police.
[Our Narsingdi correspondent Benazir Ahmed Benu contributed to this report]
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