Three brothers have been beaten and hacked to death following a dispute during a football match in the district's Sonaimuri upazila.
The deceased are Md Kamal, 36, Md Harun, 32, Md Babul, 27, sons of Maksud Ullah, of Kazibari village under Nateswar union.
Victims' younger brother Md Morshed told the Dhaka Tribune: “My brothers went to watch a local friendly football match. During the match, they locked in an altercation with Golam Maula.
“At one stage of quarrel, a group of 10-12 criminals, led by Golam Maula, beat my brothers up and hacked, leaving them dead on the spot.”
Of the attackers, seven are identified as Saddam, Anwar, Azim, Tawhid, Razu, Sharif and Rafiqul. They left the spot immediately after the incident.
Kazi Haniful Islam Bhuiyan, OC of Sonaimuri police station, said: “Being informed, police recovered the bodies from the spot. Drive is underway to capture the killers.”
Nurul Amin Swapan, chairman of Nateswar Union Parishad, claimed that the victims were involved in drug peddling and many other illegal activities in the area and locals were frustrated with their activities.
However, when asked, the OC said he did not have such information on the victims.