UNB :
A union-level Awami League leader and his aide were hacked and shot to death and two others injured in an attack by miscreants over reportedly establishing supremacy in Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj on Thursday night.
The deceased were identified as Abdus Salam, 47, general secretary of Nayaladanga union unit of the AL and son of Ettaj Ali of the same union and his aide Abdul Matin Ali, 55, a teacher of local Harinagar High School and son of Abdul Hannan.
On the other hand, the injured are Md Tito and Abdur Rahim, also associates of the AL leader.
Shibganj police station’s Officer-in-Charge Sajjad Hossain confirmed the casualties.
Locals said the AL leader, also a member of Zilla Parishad, and his aides were chatting in front of Ranihati Degree College by Government Ashrayan Project around 8:30pm.
All of a sudden, the miscreants detonated crude bombs and opened fire, killing Abdus Salam on the spot and injuring others, according to the locals.
Later, Matin Ali was rushed to the 250-bed Sadar Hospital where physicians declared him dead upon arrival, said Dr Mim Iftekhar Jahan, on-duty physician of the hospital.
She said Matin had marks of injuries from firing behind head and in left leg while Tito and Rahim were injured in the explosion of the crude bombs.
One of the injured was shifted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, she added.
OC Sajjad informed that there had been a long-standing rivalry between two groups in the Nayalabhanga area, which might have led to the murders.
Superintendent of district Police (SP) Saidul Hasan, who visited the spot and the district hospital, said the victims might have been hacked to death with a Chinese axe.
The Chinese axe was recovered from the spot, he said, adding the cause of the deaths will be known upon autopsy.
The SP said they are investigating the incident to identify the accused involved with the murders.