AL infighting claims one life in Kushtia

A ruling Awami League man was stabbed to death and another member of the party had his leg cut off, both by the party rivals over establishing supremacy, in separate incidents in Kushtia and Natore yesterday.

In Kushtia, Mainuddin Bishwas, 51, a resident of Abdalpur village in Sadar upazila, was stabbed to death in his own village in the morning.

According to police and locals, there had been long-standing disputes among the three factions led by Abdalpur union unit AL General Secretary Golam Mostafa, the local union parishad Chairman Ali Haider Shwapan and local AL activist Mainuddin.

Recently, Mainuddin and Shwapan, who were relatives, joined hands in a bid to strengthen their power and weaken the influence of Golam, intensifying tension in the area.

Amid such a situation, Golam, with hundreds of his followers, attempted to launch an attack on his opponents around 7:30am. This resulted in chases and counter-chases between the two rival groups as the opposition men had also taken position being informed about the plot in advance.

At one point, Golam's men caught Mainuddin, who fell behind during a chase, and stabbed him indiscriminately, said Nasir Uddin, officer-in-charge of Kushtia Model Police Station.

Mainuddin was taken to Kushtia General Hospital where the duty doctors declared him dead around 9:30am, the OC added.

Contacted, SM Tanvir Arafat, superintendent of police in Kushtia, said no further clash occurred and additional police forces were deployed in the areas.

No case was filed in this connection until filing of this report around 8:00pm.

In Natore, members of a rival faction chopped and cut off a leg of an AL man at Bamihal area of Singra upazila around noon.

The victim, Morshedul Islam, 35, was the acting president of Bamihal Union AL.

A feud was going on between local AL activist Afzal Hossain and Morshedul over establishing supremacy in the area, said Monirul Islam, OC of Singra Police Station.

Some seven to eight supporters of Afzal attacked on Morshedul with sharp weapons, stabbed him and cut off his left leg while he was taking tea at a tea stall.

Morshedul was taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital where he is undergoing treatment, said Monirul.

Additional policemen were deployed in the area to avoid further violence.

No case was filed in this connection.