5 hurt, houses torched in Joypurhat village

At least five people were injured when Jamaat-Shibir men launched an attack at Paterpukur village in Joypurhat Sadar upazila yesterday, allegedly in reaction to the villagers' assisting police to capture a local Jamaat leader on Friday.

During the two-hour mayhem, the Jamaat-Shibir men damaged at least 10 houses of local Awami League activists and torched five other houses, locals said.

Injured Rawshan Ara, 65, Tanzin Khatun, 34, Kulsum Begum, 28, Ishak Ali, 40, and Shahadat Hossain, 29, is now undergoing treatment at Joypurhat Modern Hospital.

Meanwhile, police arrested two bullet-hit Shibir activists--Ahsan Habib, 22, and Nazrul Islam, 28, from the spot.

Locals said over 100 Jamaat-Shibir men equipped with sharp weapons and bamboo sticks attacked at least 15 houses of the village around 1:00pm, leaving five people injured.

On information, police rushed to the spot and fired several gunshots to bring the situation under control, said Anwar Hossain, officer in-charge of Joypurhat Police Station. 

A team of Joypurhat Detective Branch of Police arrested Shah Alam, a leader of Amdoi union parishad from the village on Friday. 

While the team was returning with the arrestee, Jamaat-Shibir men snatched away Shah Alam from the police. Five DB men were also injured in the attack.