Four Workers Injured in Shooting During Sand Extraction Dispute in Kushtia
Photo Collected
Four laborers were injured, two of them by gunfire, in an armed attack late Sunday night at a sand extraction site along the Gorai River in Kushtia’s Jugia area. The assault, which involved an estimated 15 to 20 rounds of ammunition, has sparked concerns over the violent struggle for control of lucrative riverbed resources.
The victims have been identified as truck driver Firoz Hossain, laborer Sabuj, project manager Milon, and excavator operator Babla. Following the attack, they were rushed to Kushtia General Hospital. Sabuj, who sustained critical injuries, was transferred to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital on Monday morning for advanced medical care. According to Firoz, the group was working at the site when a dozen armed men approached and opened fire indiscriminately, also physically assaulting other members of the crew.
বিজ্ঞাপন
The sand extraction project, overseen by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), has been mired in controversy and shifting political control. The original lease for removing sand was awarded to “Mehedi Enterprise,” a firm owned by Mahidul Islam, a former local councilor and an official of the Kushtia municipal Awami League. Following the recent political upheaval, the contractor fled the area. Legal disputes over the lease extension eventually resulted in a court-ordered settlement that granted authorization for sand removal for an additional nine-month period.
Local sources and officials suggest that the contract’s power of attorney has since been transferred to A.K. Biswas Babu, the president of the Kushtia municipal branch of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). While Biswas confirmed that his side had purchased the rights to the project from the previous leaseholder, local residents suspect that the violence is the result of a power struggle between opposing factions attempting to establish dominance over the sand trade. Some observers have also raised the possibility that extremist elements in the region may be behind the attack to gain control of the riverfront.
বিজ্ঞাপন
Kushtia Water Development Board Executive Engineer Rashidur Rahman maintained that the current operations are being conducted in accordance with the district water resources and development management committee’s directives. Meanwhile, authorities are still in the preliminary stages of their investigation. Kushtia Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Kabir Hossain Matabbar reported that while no formal complaint had been filed as of Monday, police are actively looking into the incident.
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