Five people including the son of a BNP lawmaker were shot and injured on Sunday during daylong clashes between the AL and the BNP on Sandwip island.
Iqbal Pasha Javed, son of Mostafa Kamal Pasha, BNP’s lawmaker from the Chittagong-13 seat, was shot when Awami League activists allegedly swooped on his house on Sunday afternoon.
Officer-in-Charge of Sandwip police station Gias Uddin said Javed was shot on the right side of his chest and was sent to Chittagong Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.
The ruling party men, who allegedly hired notorious pirate gang “Jasu Bahini” from the nearby Urir Char, also set fire to a room of the lawmaker’s house, said locals and police sources.
The police said four BNP men also received bullet wounds during daylong clashes at Taltoli Bazar which were sparked by the hacking of Jubo League activist Akbar Hossain on Saturday night.
Some BNP men allegedly hacked Jubo League man Akbar in Taltoli Bazar area, triggering the unrest in the area, said the OC.
Law enforcers shot 20 rounds of tear shells and rubber bullets to disperse the agitating activists from both sides, the OC said.
At around 3:30pm, the AL men along with the pirates attacked the MP’s house with firearms and lethal weapons, police sources said.
They opened fire at the lawmaker’s residence, hitting Javed who was inside, the OC said.
The MP claimed that Awami League had hired the local pirate group to launch the attack, but OC Gias could not confirm the matter.
Lawmaker Mostafa also said he had sought security from the police, but no measures had been taken in this regard so far.
“Additional police came to the area but they took up position far from my residence,” he said.
Denying the allegation, Superintendent of police AKM Hafiz Akhter said he had ordered the OC to increase personnel, while additional forces, led by Syed Iqbal Ali, assistant superintendent of police of Sitakuna circle, was on their way to Sandwip.
“As Sandwip is an isolated place from the mainland of the country, it takes time for the additional police to reach the scene,” he said.
Leaders from the local BNP and Awami League units have blamed each other for the clashes.
