At least 20 people were injured in two clashes between supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami in Naogaon and Kushtia districts during electioneering on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Of the injured victims, at least 13 people were injured in Naogaon and at least seven people were injured in Kushtia.
Both the BNP and Jamat traded blame on each other for the clashes.
New Age Staff Correspondent in Rajshahi, referring to locals, reported that the Naogaon clash that left 13 people injured occurred following an altercation between BNP and Jamaat activists in Chak Gopalpur village under Sadar upazila on Tuesday afternoon.
The area falls under the jurisdiction of the Naogaon-5 constituency.
Naogaon district Jamaat secretary and the party’s candidate for the constituency, ASM Sayem, at a press conference on Tuesday evening, alleged that the attack on his supporters was politically motivated and aimed at disrupting a scheduled programme of the party’s ameer on February 5.
Apparently meaning the BNP activists, he alleged that his opponent candidate’s people attacked his activists, fearing defeat in the election.
He also accused the police of inaction.
Naogaon district BNP president Abu Bakkar Siddique Nannu, at a separate press conference on Wednesday, rejected the allegations and claimed that Jamaat activists had violated the election code of conduct by arranging an open feast after a campaign event.
‘When some local youths tried to record the incident on mobile phones, Jamaat activists snatched their phones and assaulted them. Locals and BNP activists protested, and Jamaat men attacked them,’ he claimed.
He alleged that at least five of their activists were seriously injured.
Naogaon Sadar Model Police Station officer-in-charge Niamul Haque said that both parties lodged separate complaints against each other.
In Kushtia, at least seven people, including Nizam Uddin, 45, Khairul Hasan Rintu, Tuhin Hossain, 32, Habibur Rahman, SM Abu Daud, 40, Masum Billal, 22, and Sheikh Saidul Islam, 33, were injured in a clash between the leaders and activists of the BNP and Jamaat in the Mashalia Bazar area of Khoksa upazila in Kushtia, reported New Age Correspondent in the district.
Quoting local people, Khoksa police inspector (investigation) Mosharaf Hossain said that the supporters of the two groups locked in an altercation over seeking a vote from a voter in Shyampur village.
To resolve the matter, an arbitration meeting was held at the office of former UP chairman and BNP leader Jahangir Alam at around 9:00am. During the meeting, tensions escalated, resulting in a clash.
On information, law enforcement agencies rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control, said the police official.
BNP leader Nizam Uddin alleged that Jamaat activists, led by the upazila Jamaat ameer Nazrul Islam, launched a premeditated attack using locally-made weapons.
Nazrul Islam, however, denied the allegation, saying that he was not present there and did not know who initiated the clash.
Another Jamaat leader, SM Abu Daud, however, alleged that BNP activists had been obstructing and threatening Jamaat’s female campaigners and were responsible for the attack.
Political clashes have been continuing since electioneering began on January 22 for the 13th parliamentary polls, with voting scheduled for February 12.
