17 injured as Nagarkanda AL factions clash

At least 17 people were injured in a clash between two factions of Awami League at Ghonapara village in Nagorkanda upazila yesterday.

Police fired 26 bullets and 10 teargas shells to bring the situation under control. They also arrested eight people from the spot.

Quoting locals, ASM Nasim, officer-in-charge of Nagarkanda Police Station, said “There was a longstanding conflict between Purapara Union Parishad Chairman Abdus Sobahan Mia, also the senior vice president of upazila AL, and Abdul Mannan, an activist of the union unit of the party, over establishing supremacy in the area.

Informed by a supporter of Mannan, police arrested five men of Sobahan when they were playing cards in the village on Monday.

After the incident, the rival groups, equipped with sharp weapons, attacked each other, that left 17 people from both sides injured yesterday morning.

They also vandalised five houses during the clash, said the OC.