Dhaka: Several people were injured in a violent clash between two parties in Bangladesh's Noakhali district on Monday night. The clash caused chaos in the entire area. Police as well as Navy and Coast Guard personnel were deployed to reduce tension and restore order. According to some local media reports, the incident took place when the National Citizens Party (NCP) and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) held rallies in Jahajmara Bazar in Noakhali district on Monday night.
The NCP claimed that more than 50 of its leaders, including senior joint chief coordinator Abdul Hannan Masood, were injured in the alleged attack by BNP members. On the other hand, according to a report by BDNews 24, the BNP said that 30 of its leaders were injured during the clash. NCP's Abdul Hannan Masood told the country's leading daily 'Prothom Alo', 'We were talking to the people. At the same time, some BNP members attacked. Many of our people were injured in the attack.'
BNP leader was attacked
However, local BNP joint secretary Lutfullahil Majid Nishan claimed that a BNP man was attacked first. He said, 'Upazila Krishak Dal coordinator Abdul Rob was beaten and injured in the evening. When local BNP members took out a protest march, tension escalated.' On Tuesday morning, Noakhali Hatiya Police Station chief Ajmal Huda confirmed that there was a standoff between the two sides in the market.
Cracks visible in unity
After this, the NCP on Tuesday took out a sudden protest march in Dhaka and condemned the alleged attack on its leader Abdul Hannan Masood in Hatiya, Noakhali and demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible for the attack and their expulsion from their respective political parties. The BNP and NCP are at loggerheads over the issue of the upcoming national elections. During a rally this month, Zainul Abedin Faruk, a member of the BNP chairperson's advisory council, accused the NCP of creating chaos to delay the elections. Cracks are now gradually increasing in the unity of various political organizations in Bangladesh during the removal of the democratically elected Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in August 2024.
