Two computer shop owners were hacked by a group of around 20 assailants armed with machetes on the capital's Elephant Road.

Some of the attackers wore masks while others had helmets during the one-and-a-half-minute attack in front of Multiplan Centre around 10:40pm on Friday, said one of the victims, Wahedul Hasan Dipu.

Besides Wahedul, president of Elephant Road Computer Baboshayee Kallyan Samity, Ehtesamul Haque, general secretary of Multiplan Shop Owners Association, was injured in the attack.

Wahedul said he and Ehteshamul cried for help as the place was full of pedestrians and vehicles. A police outpost and a traffic police box were also nearby, but no one came forward. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.

Wahedul told The Daily Star yesterday that the attackers stopped their car and shattered the windscreen with machetes before swooping down on them.

Police said that Ehtesamul was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Dhaka.

Tariq Latif, assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said some of the attackers had been identified, and police were looking for them.

Police earlier received complaints regarding disputes among groups of businessmen, he said, adding that officers were also investigating if business disputes or extortion was the motive behind the attack.

The shop owners of Elephant Road held a human chain yesterday afternoon, demanding immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the attackers.