Both groups wanted to have total control
Shooting took place at Sarak Bhaban on Tuesday not only over the recent tender businesses but also for establishing supremacy in tender manipulation, sources at the head office of Roads and Highways Department (RHD) said.
Syed Murad Reza, assistant engineer of RHD, said 14 tenders valued around Tk 520 crore had been invited in the current fiscal year of 2011-12.
Of them, four tenders for 18 works worth around Tk 250 crore were invited in November last year. But those were cancelled by the selection committee in April this year as it found manipulation there.
Sources said the cancellation of the tenders fuelled the feud between the respective groups of Shamim Shahriar, a contractor and publication secretary of Swechhasebak League central committee, and Kamal Uddin Khandaker, an office assistant of RHD and general secretary of pro-AL Sramik Karmachari Union, as they took money from the bidders promising to manage them works.
They were also trying to influence two ongoing tenders involving Tk 100 crore, the sources said.
Their feud reached a peak recently centring the High Court verdict regarding relocation of the RHD office from Ramna to Elenbari in Tejgaon.
Both of them were involved in manipulating tender process together in the past. But Kamal wanted to do the business alone now as the office has been under process of shifting to Elenbari where he happened to have clout of influence.
Shamim-Sentu group, however, has dominancy in Ramna area and that is why they wanted to organise movement against the HC verdict.
Sources said Kamal group was showing its muscle power at Elenbari office while Shamim-Sentu group at Ramna for the last 20 days and threatening their rivals.
Shamim and his supporters including his closest associate Farid Ahmed Sentu, also a contractor and former Chhatra League leader, were prepared with firearms on Tuesday to face Kamal group at Sarak Bhaban.
At least five people were bullet-hit in the 10-minute-long gunfight on the Sarak Bhaban premises in broad-day light. The two gangs fired around 30-35 rounds and Kamal left the scene by the time the cops came.
Bullet-injured Shamim was undergoing treatment at Labaid Hospital.
During a visit at the RHD zonal office at Elenbari yesterday, this correspondent found Kamal absent at his work without an authorised leave. His room was locked. Though he is an office assistant, a third-class government employee, a room was allocated only for him.
Meanwhile, police arrested Abul Kalam Azad, assistant storekeeper of the RHD, from his Shyamoli home around 3:00am in a case filed against him centring Tuesday's violence.
A supporter from Shamim-Sentu group, Golam Azam Mamun, proprietor of Three M Enterprise and also a listed contractor of the RHD, filed the case with Shahbagh Police Station around 11:00pm on Tuesday accusing at least 18 people.
In the case, the plaintiff mentioned the names of Azad and three others as accused -- Kamal, Md Fazlur Rahman, chainman at the department, and one Md Rafique.
While talking to The Daily Star at the police station, Azad said he knew nothing about the violence at the roads office. Azad was placed on a two-day remand by Shahbagh police yesterday.
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