Police yesterday recovered the pistol of Niazul Islam "which he lost" on January 16 during a fierce clash between supporters of Narayanganj Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy and local Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman.

Niazul, a close aide of Shamim, was one of them who brandished guns during an attack on Ivy and her supporters on that day.

Nizaul's brother Ripon Khan filed a general diary with Narayanganj Sadar Police Station on January 17, claiming that his brother lost the gun during the clash.

On the day of the clash, Ivy and around 50 others were injured as supporters of Shamim attacked her and her followers, leading to a clash on Bangabandhu Road in Narayanganj city's Chashara area over eviction of hawkers from footpaths.

On information, police searched for the pistol and found the gun and 10 bullets in a flowerpot in front of Saint Paul's Church on the Bangabandhu Road around 2:00am, Abdur Razzak, acting officer-in-charge of the police station, told The Daily Star.

The gun was wrapped in a polythene bag, the OC said, adding that police were trying to arrest Niazul, who has gone into hiding.

Apart from Niazul, Shah Nizam, another close aide of Shamim, also flaunted a firearm during the incident on January 16. He is the joint secretary of the Narayanganj city AL and also the secretary of district Community Police.

Talking to this newspaper earlier, Nizam admitted that he had wielded a gun, but claimed not to have attacked Ivy or her supporters.

“I flaunted the gun only to stop my followers from attacking the mayor's supporters who swooped on us carrying firearms," he had said.