Clash Between BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami Supporters Leaves Eight Injured in Gaibandha

Photo Collected

A+ A A-

At least eight people were injured on Monday night during a violent clash between activists from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami in the Sundah Bazar area of Gaibandha’s Palashbari upazila. The confrontation, which erupted around 10 p.m., paralyzed traffic on the Dhaka-Rangpur highway for approximately an hour as the two groups faced off.

Local witnesses reported that the tensions originated from an earlier dispute, which escalated when BNP workers allegedly assaulted a local leader of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, on Monday evening. The incident sparked immediate unrest, leading both factions to mobilize their supporters in the market area, ultimately resulting in an hour of physical combat.

The fallout from the clash left several individuals requiring medical attention. Among the injured was Palashbari Upazila BNP President Abdus Samad, who was transferred to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital in Bogura for advanced treatment. Two others remain hospitalized at the Palashbari Upazila Health Complex. Local business owners further reported that several shops in the vicinity were ransacked and looted during the turmoil.

Social media rumors of Savar militant attacks debunked as old footage

Read More

Leaders from both parties offered conflicting accounts of the evening’s events. Abu Ala Mawdud, general secretary of the Palashbari unit of the BNP, claimed that Jamaat-Shibir activists initiated the attack, leaving three of his party colleagues severely injured. In contrast, Sakhawat Hossain, the local secretary for Jamaat-e-Islami, stated that the conflict began over a dispute surrounding a football match, accusing BNP workers of launching a premeditated assault on his party members and Shibir activists, resulting in four to five injuries among their ranks.

Officer-in-Charge of Palashbari Police Station, Sarwar Alam, confirmed that law enforcement intervened to bring the situation under control. Authorities stated that no formal complaints had been filed as of Tuesday, though police have committed to investigating the incident and pursuing legal action once an official report is submitted.