A youth was shot and another stabbed by rivals in Natore city over disputes related to establishing supremacy in the bus transport sector early Saturday.
The injured are Subel, 27, nephew of RP Rokeya Paribahan owner, and Nirendra Nath, 45, an employee of the Natore District Bus Owners Association. Both are undergoing treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
Basirur Rahman Khan Chowdhury, general secretary of the Natore Bus Owners Association, said that the association had 350 members, each allowed to operate a maximum of 15 buses per day.
鈥楬owever, Mojibur Rahman, former general secretary of the association and owner of Rajokio Paribahan, has been operating 20 buses, violating the association鈥檚 rules,鈥� he added.聽
Basirur mentioned that a recent request to Mojibur to comply with the rules angered him. Following this, Mojibur, Babul Akhtar, owner of Nabila Paribahan, and a youth named Khoka, along with 10 to 12 others, hacked Nirendra Nath at the district bus terminal at about 1:00am on Saturday.
When Subel attempted to save Nirendra Nath, they shot him in the leg, Basirur said, adding that the bus owners had been feeling insecure following the incident.
鈥榃e informed the district administration and halted bus communication for one hour on Saturday morning,鈥� he added.
Repeated attempts to contact Mojibur Rahman and Babul Akhtar for comments were unsuccessful.
Mizanur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Natore Sadar police station, said that no complaints had been lodged with the police station as of Saturday afternoon.
鈥榃e are trying to identify and arrest those involved in the incident,鈥� he added.
