One dead, 10 injured in Brahmanbaria clash over land dispute

At least 10 others, including women and children, are injured in the violence

One person has been killed and at least 10 others, including women and children, injured in a clash between two groups over possession of government-controlled land in Brahmanbaria’s Nasirnagar, police say.

The clash broke out around 3pm on Friday in Lomba Hati under Bhalakut union, Nasirnagar Police chief Shahinur Islam said.

The dead has been identified as Bashir Mia, 55.

The injured were identified as Karima Akhtar, Chan Banu, Asheda Akhtar, Khairunnesa, Saima Akhtar, Putul Akhtar, Nurunnahar Begum, Taslima Begum, Julhas Mia and Bashir Mia.

They received treatment at the Nasirnagar Upazila Health Complex.

Relatives of the dead and witnesses said a long-running dispute had existed between two groups over the possession of government-owned khas land in the zone.

They said Alamgir Mia recently began demarcating the land, claiming to have leased it from the government.

This led to an altercation between women from Kutub’s household and supporters of Alamgir.

The dispute escalated when members of both sides armed themselves with locally made weapons and clashed.

Injured in the violence, Bashir was rescued and rushed to the clinic, where doctors declared him dead.

Bashir’s niece Khairunnesa said, “At noon, everyone in our family went to work on the land.

“Before we could understand what was happening, Alamgir arrived with his men to seize the government land.

“When we resisted, all the women in our household were assaulted. When my uncle came to protect us, he was strangled to death.”

Officer Shahinur said preparations were under way to send the body to the Brahmanbaria District Sadar Hospital morgue for postmortem.

Police have been deployed in the locality to maintain order, and a process is under way to identify those involved and take legal action.

Repeated attempts to contact Alamgir over the phone were unsuccessful.