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At least 25 people have been injured in a violent clash between two village groups in Faridpur’s Bhanga Upazila over a long-standing land dispute.
The confrontation began around 4pm on Sunday in Gopinathpur village, with both sides wearing helmets and wielding makeshift shields, bamboo sticks and local weapons, said Bhanga Police chief Ashraf Hossain.
While police arrived shortly after the clash began, officers reportedly failed to bring the situation under control for nearly two hours and had to retreat, reports bdnews24.com.
Order was finally restored around 6:30pm when the Army intervened.
According to locals, tension had been brewing since Friday after an argument and scuffle broke out between residents Simon Matubbar and Kuddus Matubbar over land ownership.
A village arbitration meeting was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but it quickly turned violent as the two sides attacked each other with sticks, spears and broken bricks.
Witnesses said the violence spread as villagers joined the fight, with both sides hurling broken bricks and using shields and other local weapons to fend off attacks.
Ashraf said, “We rushed to the spot but couldn’t calm the villagers. The situation was getting out of hand, so we pulled back for safety.”
He added that additional police and Army units were later deployed to contain the violence.
Locals, however, alleged that the lack of timely action by law-enforcers allowed the attackers to vandalise several homes and shops and loot valuables during the chaos.