15 hurt as BNP factions clash at Uprising Day rally in Feni

At least 15 people received injuries as a clash broke out between two BNP factions in Feni's Daganbhuiyan upazila during the Uprising Day rally.

The incident took place at 11 am on Tuesday (August 5) in the Zero Point area of the municipal town.

Local BNP leaders and activists confirmed the matter.

They said that as part of the BNP's centrally announced programme, Daganbhuiyan upazila and municipal BNP leaders and activists took out a rally to mark the Uprising Day.

When the rally reached the zero point of Daganbhuiyan Municipality from Chaumuhani Road, there was a chase and counter-chase with the followers of former general secretary of the municipal BNP Kazi Saifur Rahman Swapan and expelled vice-president of the district Chhatra Dal Kazi Jamshedur Rahman Phatik and brickbats were thrown.

At least 15 leaders and activists from both sides, including Upazila Mohila Dal president Jahanara Begum, Chhatra Dal convener Saimun Haque Rajib, member secretary Touhidul Islam Manik, engineers Sohel and Sarwar, Belal, Sifat, and Milon, were injured.

Daganbhuiyan Upazila BNP convener Akbar Hossain told the media that the attack on the Bijoy rally was part of a conspiracy. The attack was carried out on ordinary leaders and activists with the aim of making BNP controversial among the common people and implementing the Awami agenda.

He said that former general secretary of the municipal BNP Kazi Saifur Rahman Swapan, Abul Hashem Bahadur and Phatik, who was expelled from Chhatra Dal, directly participated in the attack. We returned without protesting the attack to avoid chaos.

Regarding the allegations, former general secretary of the Daganbhuiyan municipal BNP Kazi Saifur Rahman Swapan said: "We were holding a blood donation programme at Zero Point with party leaders and activists. They made sarcastic comments while taking out a procession. Then our leaders and activists got into an argument with them."

He said: "We have normalized the situation. The allegations of an attack on our leadership are not true. Rather, our leaders and activists were injured in their attack."

Daganbhuiyan Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Wahid Parvez said: "The police immediately went to the scene and brought the situation under control. Now the situation is normal."