BNP MP Aynul blames Jamaat, NCP for car attack in Sirajganj

The car of BNP MP Aynul Hoque, elected from Sirajganj-3 (Raiganj-Tarash), has come under attack and been vandalised.

The lawmaker accused Jamaat-e-Islami of involvement, a charge the party denied.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon in Raigonj Upazila's Dhangora, said Saiful Islam, additional superintendent of police (Raiganj Circle).

The BNP activists later held a protest march and rally in the evening at Chandaikona and Dhangora markets over the attack.

Local residents said a government letter on constructing a Technical Training Centre (TTC) building had recently circulated on social media, saying the facility would be set up in Chandaikona.

The letter sparked a rift between residents of Chandaikona and Dhangora, with both sides demanding the centre be built in their own area. 

Each side went on to hold marches, rallies and human chains over the issue.

One camp argued that since nearly all of Raigonj Upazila's government offices are located in Dhangora, the TTC should be built there too, for administrative convenience. 

The other camp countered that, precisely because everything else was already in there, the TTC should instead go to Chandaikona.

Amid this standoff, Aynul held a meeting in Dhangora that afternoon to discuss the TTC's construction.

The meeting descended into an argument and uproar between supporters of both sides.

As MP Aynul attempted to leave the scene in his car, brickbats were hurled at the vehicle from behind, shattering its rear windscreen.

Aynul issued a video statement shortly after the incident, alleging that activists from Jamaat, NCP and the Students Against Discrimination had triggered the uproar during the discussion over the TTC's location, and attacked his car as he left the scene.

The MP directed the administration to take action, and maintained that the TTC would ultimately be built at the site fixed under the government's decision.

Addl SP Saiful said police had been deployed to the scene and surrounding areas following the attack.

"The situation is now under control. No case has been filed and no one has been detained in connection with the incident," he added.

Golam Murtuza, Raiganj Upazila Jamaat chief, denied any attack had taken place. 

"No such incident occurred at all. The MP has ‘created a scene’. How the car's glass broke is something only they can explain," he said.

He added that one and a half acres of land had been earmarked near Raiganj Municipality for the TTC long ago, but that Aynul had later sought to shift it to Chandaikona after the allocation came through, a move even the BNP supporters in Dhangora opposed.

Sirajganj district Jamaat Secretary Zahidul Islam said BNP's own internal factional rifts were behind the incident, alleging the party had vandalised its own vehicle and was now trying to pin the blame on Jamaat-e-Islami. 

He said the party had no connection to the incident.

Efforts are under way to reach NCP leaders for comment.