Two young men were killed in a clash between two groups at a bar in the Jhautola area of Cox’s Bazar town on Thursday night.
The incident took place between around 10:30pm and 11:30pm at a bar on the second floor of the Renaissance Hotel in Jhautola.
The deceased were Najibul Haque Rashed, 28, from Madhyam Nuniarchhara area of Cox’s Bazar town, and Solaiman, 26, also known as Salman, from the BGB Camp area.
According to police and witnesses, several young men were drinking at the bar on Thursday night. At one point, an argument broke out between groups led by Rashed and Salman over a minor issue.
The two groups then called in more people from outside and attacked each other with locally made weapons and broken glass bottles. Rashed sustained serious injuries to his throat and abdomen from broken glass and knife blows during the clash.
He was taken to Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital, where the attending doctor declared him dead.
Meanwhile, locals allegedly beat Salman and handed him over to police, accusing him of killing Rashed. He was initially admitted to Sadar Hospital under police guard but was later transferred to Chittagong Medical College Hospital as his condition deteriorated.
Salman died while undergoing treatment there on Friday.
Cox’s Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police Md Ahidul Islam said the bar was initially found to have been operating without authorization.
The bar has been sealed and closed to preserve evidence and facilitate the investigation, he said.
Renaissance Hotel manager Foyezul Haque claimed that the bar’s license had been renewed until June 2027.
Sheikh Mohammad Ali, officer-in-charge of Cox’s Bazar Sadar Model police station, said the bodies had been sent to the morgue for autopsies.
Additional police have been deployed in the area since the incident, he said. Police are collecting CCTV footage from the bar and trying to identify and arrest others involved in the clash.
No formal case had been filed in connection with the incident as of Friday, although the process was underway.