A Union Parishad member was killed and at least 24 others were hurt as an altercation between two groups of villagers over punishing a man for teasing a girl turned violent in Kanaighat upazila of Sylhet yesterday.

The dead, AS Dudu Mia, 40, was a member of local Lakhiprasad Union Parishad, said Humayan Kabir, officer-in-charge of Kanaighat Police Station.

He said the clash broke out after a mobile court led by Kanaighat Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tarek Mohammad Zakaria sentenced one Sabab Uddin to three months in prison for teasing a local schoolgirl in Kuar Gori village on Thursday.

After yesterday's Juma prayers, Rakib Hasan, elder brother of Sabab, met Dudu Mia near the local mosque. They had an altercation when Rakib claimed that his brother was innocent and was punished due to a conspiracy by Dudu, said police, quoting witnesses.

At one point, the altercation turned violent as supports of the two men swooped on each other with sticks and bamboos, leaving 25 villagers injured.

Dudu was hit on the head and was bleeding. He was rushed to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital but doctors there declared him dead, said the OC.

Twenty of the injured received treatment at Kanaighat Upazila Health Complex.

Rakib was on the run and additional members of police were deployed in the village to avert any untoward situation, added the police official.