NCP leader 'out of danger' after being shot in Khulna

NCP’s Khulna Metropolitan Organiser Saif Newaz says Motaleb was shot at close range

Motaleb Shikdar, the Khulna divisional chief of the NCP-affiliated Jatiya Sramik Shakti, has been declared out of danger after being shot in the head in Khulna city.

Khulna Medical College Hospital Superintendent Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman told reporters on Monday that Motaleb had sustained a gunshot injury to the left side of his head.

“Motaleb is out of danger now. He received primary treatment in the dressing room of the hospital’s surgery ward,” he said.

Sonadanga Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Animesh Mandal said the shooting took place around noon in the city’s Sonadanga area.

“He was shot inside a house behind Gazi Medical College Hospital. The bullet grazed his scalp. He survived, although there was bleeding,” the officer said.

Locals first rushed Motaleb to Khulna Medical College Hospital.

He was later taken to the City Diagnostic Centre for a CT scan of his head.

Sonadanga Police Station chief Rafiqul Islam said no arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon.

“The incident is under investigation,” he said.

Saif Newaz, organiser of the NCP’s Khulna Metropolitan unit, said Motaleb was shot at close range.

“Motaleb is a central organiser of the Jatiya Sramik Shakti. The party is scheduled to hold a divisional workers’ rally in Khulna in the coming days, and he was coordinating preparations for it,” he said.