Two villagers in Bhanga injured in clash over land dispute, houses vandalized and looted

At least 25 people were injured in a face-to-face clash between two villagers in Bhanga, Faridpur over a land dispute.

On Sunday afternoon, a clash took place in Gopinathpur village of Hamirdi union of Bhanga upazila. Many houses and shops were vandalized and looted in the clash. After receiving the information, Bhanga police reached the spot, but the situation was not under control, so the police retreated and stood at a distance.

The clashers used indigenous weapons, shields, sharki, katra, teta and broken road bricks, and both groups wore helmets on their heads. The clash lasted for two hours on both sides of the road. More than 25 villagers were injured in the clash due to the impact of bricks and indigenous weapons. The seriously injured have been rescued and admitted to Bhanga and Faridpur Medical College Hospitals.

Locals said that last Friday, Simon Matubbar and Quddus Matubbar of Gopinathpur village had a fight over a land dispute.

A mediation meeting was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. The mediation groups from several nearby villages arrived. Two groups of villagers from Gopinathpur village, who were sitting in the mediation meeting, attacked each other with indigenous weapons. Then, people from Chhota Hamerdi, Khadra Kandi and Baisha Khali areas took sides in the clash.

The clash, which started in the afternoon, continued till 6 pm. Since the law and order forces were not present at the spot, the clashers vandalised several houses and shops of the villagers and looted valuables. The clash is still going on till the time of writing this report.

In this regard, Bhanga Police Station Officer-in-Charge Ashraf Hossain said, we quickly went to the spot after receiving the news of the clash. Seeing the situation getting tense, we retreated. The villagers could not be calmed down in any way. Later, additional police and army were informed from the district headquarters. They will really try to calm the situation.