Shots fired from AL nomination aspirant's convoy in Pirojpur

At least nine blank shots were fired from the convoy of Sheikh Anny Rahman, who wants to contest the upcoming national polls with Awami League nomination, in Pirojpur town on Tuesday night.

Anny claimed that her supporters fired the shots in self-defence after a group of criminals, carrying arms, attacked them in Damodar Bridge area around 8:00pm.

The incident happened when Anny, wife of Sheikh Hafizur Rahman, a cousin of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with her supporters was on way to her home in Pirojpur town from Hafizur's house in Gopalganj's Tungipara.

“To save us from the attack, our security men and even my husband fired blank shots with their licensed arms,” she told The Daily Star yesterday. “No one was injured and no vehicle was damaged.”

Witnesses, however, said when some motorcycles and cars in Anny's convoy were crossing the area, some youths hurled “abusive slogans” at her supporters. At this, the vehicles hurriedly left the place. After a while, Anny's men fired blank shots.

At least nine shots were fired in the air in several places of the town, including near Pirojpur Police Station and the house of the additional superintendent of police, said witnesses and police.

It spread panic among the locals. Many closed the shutters of their shops.

SM Ziaul Haque, officer-in-charge of the police station, said they were investigating the matter.

“We haven't yet found any evidence that Anny's convoy was attacked,”     he said.

Meanwhile, a chase and a counter chase between the supporters of Anny and her rivals took place in Pirojpur town yesterday evening.

The situation in the town was tense last night. Additional police members were deployed to avert any untoward situation. 

Anny, daughter of late Enaet Hossain Khan, former president of Pirojpur AL and lawmaker from the district, wants to contest the parliamentary polls, likely in December, with AL nomination from Pirojpur-1 constituency. She has attended several rallies and brought out processions in the district recently.