Murder of Pabna AL Leader: Houses torched, shops looted as protests flare up

The followers of local Awami League leader Bokul Sheikh, who was hacked to death in Pabna on Friday, torched four houses, ransacked several shops and staged demonstrations in the district town yesterday, protesting the murder.

A number of supporters, villagers and family members of Bokul brought out a procession and staged demonstrations by blocking roads in the district town in the afternoon, demanding punishment for the killers.

They also held a rally in front of the local AL office and threatened to go for tougher action if the killers are not arrested within the next 24 hours. 

Earlier in the day, some agitating followers of Bokul reportedly ransacked several shops and set fire to four houses in Ananto Bazar area, protesting the killing.  Police and firefighters later brought the fire under control. 

On Friday night, criminals hacked and shot Bokul Sheikh (45), a ward unit joint secretary of AL and a member of Dogasi union parishad, following a clash with a rival group led by one Mokhlesur Rahman over establishing supremacy in the area.

Nasim Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Pabna Sadar Police Station, said demonstrators yesterday also set fire to a house of Mokhlesur. Additional police were deployed in Ananto Bazar area as a tense situation was prevailing there after the death of Bokul, the OC said.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Abdul Ahad Babu, office secretary of Pabna district AL, said Mokhlesur's men had been collecting extortion money from the drivers of battery-run three-wheelers in the area for a long time.