Kishoreganj villagers’ clash leaves 2 dead, 30 injured

At least two people were killed and 30 others injured in a clash between people of two rival villages in Kishoreganj's Itna upazila yesterday morning.

The deceased are Badal Mia, 40, son of Noor Hossain of Projarkanda village, and Miraj Mia, 70, son of late Lal Mia of adjacent Shantipur village in the upazila.

Quoting the villagers, Officer in Charge (OC) of Itna Police Station Mohammad Morshed Zaman said there had been a rivalry between people of Projarkanda and neighbouring Shantipur villager over different issues for long.

On Friday night, an altercation took place between two groups of the rival villages over boarding on an auto-rickshaw at a local stand.

Later, elderly people and representatives from both the villages sat for an arbitration at Amirganj Bazar the same night.

At one stage of the arbitration, people of Shantipur village beat up one Ataur Rahman of Projarkanda village, triggering a fresh tension among people of both the villages, the OC said.

As a sequel, hundreds of inhabitants of the two villages, equipped with sharp weapons, locked in a fierce clash in Andhair area around 6:00am that left two people dead on the spot and 30 others injured, police said. 

The injured were admitted to Kishoreganj General Hospital and Habiganj's Ajmiriganj Upazila Health Complex, the OC said, adding that, additional police have been deployed at both the villages to avert any untoward situation.