13 injured in post-poll violence in Kishoreganj, Meherpur

At least 13 people were injured in post-election clashes between supporters of winning and defeated candidates in the districts of Kishoreganj and Meherpur on Friday.

The first incident occurred around 11:00am in the Kishoreganj-5 constituency, which comprises Nikli and Bajitpur upazilas. Supporters of newly elected independent candidate Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Iqbal and his defeated rival Syed Ehsanul Huda engaged in a violent clash in Humayunpur village under Humayunpur union of the upazila.

At least 10 people from both sides were injured in the confrontation. Among them, four were admitted to the Upazila Health Complex for treatment.

According to local sources, Abdur Rashid, president of Humayunpur union BNP, is known to be a follower of Mujibur. On the other hand, former vice-president of Bajitpur Upazila BNP and former union parishad chairman Qayyum Khan is a supporter of Syed Ehsanul Huda.

Tensions reportedly escalated between the followers of the two local leaders in the morning, eventually turning into a clash.

Mujibur won the Kishoreganj-5 seat as an independent candidate. He was previously known as a rebel candidate of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

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He defeated BNP candidate Ehsanul, who contested with the “Sheaf of Paddy” symbol, by a margin of 13,154 votes.

Mujibur contested with the “Duck” symbol.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Bajitpur Police Station SM Shahidullah said police rushed to the scene upon receiving reports of the clash and brought the situation under control.

The situation is currently calm, and four injured individuals have been sent to hospital, he added.

In a separate incident in Gangni upazila of Meherpur district, three activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami were allegedly attacked by local BNP leaders and activists over post-election disputes.

The attack took place in the morning at a tea stall in Jorpukuria Bazar. The injured were identified as two brothers from Jorpukuria village — Ujjal Hossain, 30, and Masud Rana, 45 — along with Jewel Rana, 28.

Critically injured Ujjal was transferred to Kushtia General Hospital, while the other two are receiving treatment at Gangni Upazila Health Complex.

Local sources said the three were having tea when several BNP activists, including Mahibul, his son Ripon, Belu and Saheb, allegedly attacked them with locally made weapons and sticks.

Locals later rescued the injured and took them to hospital.

The victims claimed the attack was premeditated, alleging that they were targeted for working in favor of Jamaat candidate Nazmul Huda in the recently concluded election in the Meherpur-2 constituency.

Mahabub, head of the media cell of Gangni Upazila Jamaat, alleged that their leaders and activists are being threatened in various places following confirmation of government formation.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Gangni Police Station Uttam Kumar Das said police promptly reached the scene after receiving the information and brought the situation under control.

In the Meherpur-2 constituency, Jamaat alliance candidate Md Nazmul Huda defeated BNP candidate Md Amjad Hossain by nearly 9,000 votes.

Tensions between supporters of the two parties have been prevailing in the area since the announcement of the results.