Boy shot dead in clash between AL candidate, rebel
Sylhet: A teenage boy was shot dead and 50 others were injured in a gunfight between the supporters of Awami League-backed chairman candidate and a rebel candidate at Banglabazar Hatanipara in Osmaninagar upazila over the upazila council polls to be held on March 6.
The deceased was Saiful Islam, 17, son of Sharaf Uddin of Uttar Kalnichar village in Jagannathpur upazila.
Quoting locals, police said there were altercations among the supporters of AL-backed chairman candidate Kabir Uddin and its rebel contender Jaglu Chowdhury over the election on Saturday.
As a sequel to the incident, supporters of both the groups, equipped with firearms and weapons, attacked each other at about 11:30am on Sunday and exchanged gunfire, leaving 51 people injured.
Among the injured, Saiful who suffered bullet wounds died on the way to Sylhet Osmaninagar Medical College Hospital.
Osmaninagar Police Station Officer-in-charge Abdul Awal Chowdhury said police rushed in, lobbed teargas shells and fired robber bullets to disperse them, said Abdul Awal Chowdhury.
Traffic on Dhaka-Sylhet highway was disrupted for about two hours during the fight.
Police arrested four people from the spot. Additional police have been deployed in the area to fend off further trouble.