NCP leaders evacuated under police escort following violent clashes in Habiganj

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National Citizen Party (NCP) key coordinator Nasiruddin Patwari and chief organizer (Northern Region) Sarjis Alam departed for Dhaka under police escort late Tuesday following a violent confrontation in Habiganj. The incident, which left at least 15 people injured and temporarily paralyzed traffic on the city’s main thoroughfares, occurred after the party’s “July Procession” rally concluded near the town hall.

Tensions erupted around 7:00 p.m. in the Staff Quarters area as the NCP leaders’ motorcade traveled toward the local circuit house. Witnesses reported that protesters hurled bricks at the vehicles, forcing Patwari to flee to the circuit house while Alam took refuge inside a local Sonali Bank office. Alam remained barricaded for approximately an hour before police intervened to move him to the safety of the circuit house.

NCP officials alleged that the attack was a premeditated assault orchestrated by local members of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Patwari claimed in a social media statement that the assailants were armed with hockey sticks, machetes, and chains, and he accused local law enforcement of failing to take effective action to prevent the violence. The party further reported that the attackers breached the circuit house perimeter, where they vandalized a media transport vehicle and seized cameras and mobile phones belonging to journalists.

NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan condemned the incident, describing the breach of a state facility as a disturbing precedent for political violence. Joint member secretary Saleh Uddin Sifat confirmed that multiple party members and journalists sustained serious injuries during the clashes, with some suffering broken limbs.

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In response to the allegations, Habiganj district JCD general secretary Zillur Rahman denied involvement, arguing that the unrest was a spontaneous reaction to inflammatory remarks made by the NCP leadership during their earlier rally.

By 10:00 p.m., police had secured the area and provided a formal escort for the NCP leaders to safely exit the city. Authorities have since deployed additional police personnel across Habiganj to maintain order. In the wake of the violence, NCP supporters organized protest marches in Sylhet and gathered outside the party’s central office in Dhaka’s Banglamotor area late Tuesday night to demand the immediate arrest of those responsible for the attack.