At least five people, including three women, were injured in a clash over distribution of rice under the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme at Charbaria union parishad in Barisal city yesterday afternoon.
One village security personnel and a local Awami League leader were also injured in the incident.
Witnesses said, more than one thousand distressed women with distribution slips came to collect rice under the VGF scheme arranged by Charbaria UP on occasion of Eid-ul-Azha at its office.
Alamgir Hossain, organising secretary of union BNP, attended the event in absence of Ziaul Hasan Sabu, UP chairman and union BNP president.
At that time, organising secretary of local AL Sultan Mahmud stormed into the office and shut down the main entrance. He also ordered his men to forcibly collect the distribution slips from the females disrupting the rice distribution.
Agitated women at one point protested and an altercation broke out between the AL men and the VGF collectors.
Three women, Naznin Aktar, Shefali Begum and Hosne Ara, were injured by AL men at that time. They were taken to a local clinic for treatment.
Later, AL leader Sultan Mahmud fleeing from the scene beat up Mizanur Rahman, Chowkidar of the union, for letting the women attack him. And in protest, Mizan's son Mamun with his group beat Sultan and locked him up.
Later police rushed to the spot, rescued and brought Sultan to the Kawnia police station.
When contacted, AL leader Sultan Mahmud blamed the political rival for instigating the attack on him. He claimed that he had collected the VGF slips to check the identity of the women.
Kazi Mahbubur Rahman, officer in-charge Kawnia police station, said police had started investigating the matter following a written allegation from Sultan Mahmud.