Munshiganj: At least seven activists of Awami League and its associate bodies were badly beaten and injured in a clash at Muktarpur near Munshiganj town on Tuesday.

They were attacked by workers of a factory as they tried to intimidate the factory owner, also a local AL leader, into withdrawing him from union election contests.

Later, the clash spread across the district town and ruling party factions got into clashes. The groups also exchanged shots. The clash, continued from 12 noon to about 3:00pm, scattered people.

The injured are Fayez Ahmed Pavel, general secretary of district Chhatra League, Mridul Dewan, president of district Torun League, Adar Dash, nephew of local lawmaker and AL leader Mridul Kanti Das, and Palash, Riad, Badal and Dulal.

Local AL leaders said Awami League leader Abdus Sattar is contesting for the chairman post in Panchasar union council election. He was nominated by the party. Another aspirant of the post is Golam Mostofa, who is also an Awami League leader and a thread trader.

Abdus Sattar, along with his supporters, went to the Kingfisher Knitting, a thread factory owned by Golam Mostofa, on Tuesday afternoon and was attacked by the workers of the factory.

Golam Mostofa said Fayez Ahmed Pavel, Mridul Dewan and their associates held him at gunpoint and intimidated him into withdrawing from the elections.

He complained that Mridul fired several shots to kill him, but he luckily escaped. Later, people near him caught the ruling party men and beat them up.

Witnesses said the workers forcefully took Mridul, Fayez, Palash and Adar inside the factory.

Later, police recovered them from inside the factory and send them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Supports of Abdus Sattar blocked the Tongibar-Shipahipara Road and vadalised several vehicles. Rapid Action Battalion forcers reached the spot and dispersed the protesters.

The supporters of the two candidates also clashed in the district town. At about 2:30pm, they pelted each other with stones and exchanged shots.

Abdus Sattar said he went to Muktarpur to join an election campaign. When he reached the spot, supporters of Golam Mostofa stopped them and started threatening. They forcefully took four of his supporters inside the factory and confined them.

Local leaders and activists of Awami League and its associate bodies blocked the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at Bhaber Char under Gazaria upazila of the district at about 3:00pm. They kept the blocked for about an hour protesting the attack on their fellows.

Additional police forces were deployed at the area.