Land dispute leaves 2 killed in B’baria

Two people, including a freedom fighter, were killed and at least 22 others injured in a clash between two groups of villagers over a land dispute at Bilkenduai village in Sadar upazila on Monday.

The deceased are Malai Mia, 45, and Abdur Rouf, 72, a freedom fighter, of the village.

Quoting villagers, Inspector (Investigation) Atiqur Rahman of Sadar Model Police Station said there had been a longstanding feud between Nasir Mia and Malai Mia over the ownership of a disputed land at the village and it took a serious turn during the last union parishad election.

As a sequel to the enmity, a group loyal to Nasir equipped with sharp weapons attacked Malai’s house around 5:30pm on Monday, leaving Malai critically injured.

Injured Malai later died while he was being taken to Dhaka Medial College Hospital (DMCH) the same night.

Meanwhile, hearing the news, both the groups locked in a fierce clash that lasted for nearly one and a half hours, leaving 23 people from both sides injured, the police officer said.

Of the injured, 17 were admitted to Brahmanbaria General Hospital while Rouf was referred to DMCH, but he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment there the same night.

Being informed, police went to the spot and brought the situation under control, the investigation officer said, adding that additional police have been deployed at the village to avert further incident.