AL groups clash during Cumilla rally

News Desk :
A rally of the Awami League at Cumilla metropolis has been marred by a clash between two factions of the party, leaving several people wounded, as witnesses reported crude bomb blasts and gunshots.
The injured were yet to be identified, reports bdnews24.com
The incident occurred around 12 pm on Saturday in the city’s Kandirpar area during the speech of General Secretary Obaidul Quader at a party conference.
The road transport and bridges minister opened the event at Cumilla Town Hall ground an hour before the chaos struck.
Onlookers and members of the party said when the followers of Afzal Khan, led by MP from reserved seat Anjum Sultana Sima, tried to make their way into the rally ground,
the supporters of incumbent Cumilla-6 MP AKM Bahauddin Bahar attempted to block them. Both sides started by hurling bricks and it gradually escalated into full-blown clashes with crude bombs while the sounds of bullets rang out. Police stepped in and quickly pacified the situation.
Daily Prothom Alo photo journalist M Sadek was wounded in the neck by a shotgun pellet during the clash, he said.
Bahar and the late Awami League leader Afzal have been in conflict for a long time. Afzal’s daughter Sima has been leading his father’s supporters since his death in November last year, according to members of the party.
Afzal’s supporters complained that they were excluded from the rally on Saturday though Bahar’s men dismissed the claim. Afzal’s supporters decided to join the rally — uninvited.
Nur Ur Rahman Mahmud Tanim, Cumilla Awami League’s secretary of relief and rehabilitation affairs, Anisur Rahman Mithu, its youth and sports secretary, Kabirul Islam Sikder, education and human resources secretary, and Masud Parvez Khan Imran, president of Cumilla Chamber of Commerce, were among those who were barred from entering the rally.
Tanim said: “We were not told about the rally and none of us was included in the preparation meeting either. We still went there. Bahar’s men shut the gate of the Town Hall to prevent us from entering. We could’ve broken it down to make our way in, but the central leaders requested us not to create disorder.”
He said the central leaders promised them that the committee will “reflect what they hope for”, so they were retreating respectfully. “That’s when our supporters were attacked from behind.”
“When our people retaliated and tried to chase them off, several of us were wounded by bullets and bombs. They are receiving treatment,” he added.
Atiqullah Khokon, joint convener of the rally committee and metropolitan Awami League general secretary who is known as a follower of Bahar, said: “We are at the rally’s location. None of our people fired shots or exploded crude bombs.”
Sanjur Morshed, chief of Cumilla Model Police Station, said: “Members of the force are at the ground to keep things in check. The police did not fire any shots. We will look into the matter if anybody lodges complaints.”
Md Abdul Mannan, superintendent of district police, said they did not know how the journalist was injured. “We are collecting information on it.”