UP member shot dead in Rangamati

A Union Parishad member has been gunned down in broad daylight by a group of unknown assailants in Rangamati's Baghaichhari Upazila.

The dead man has been identified as Samar Bijay Chakma, 38, a member of ward No. 1 in Rupkari Union.  He was a supporter of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity or PCJSS (MN-Larma) faction.

The assailants stormed into his office at Baghaichhari Upazila Parishad complex around 1 pm on Wednesday and shot him dead, said Upazila Project Implementation Officer Nurbabi Sarker.

"Bijay was talking to me in my room about a project when two or three people stood outside the door and began peeking in. One of them entered the room and held a gun to his chest before shooting him. They fled the scene soon after the incident," Nurbabi told bdnews24.com.

Informed of the matter, police rushed to the scene and found Bijay's body sitting in the chair, said Baghaichhari Police Station OC Anwar Hossain Khan.

"The miscreants arrived on motorbikes. They fled the scene quickly after the shooting," Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shariful Islam said.

Bijay was a member of JSS Juba Samiti, according to Baghaichhari Upazila chairman Sudarshan Chakma, who is also a leader of PCJSS (MN-Larma).

Sudarshan blamed the JSS (Santu Larma) faction for the incident.

But no-one from the Santu Larma faction was immediately available for comment.