A clash between two groups of villagers triggered by allegations of harassing a woman and her daughter left at least 32 people injured in the remote char area of the River Teesta in Gaibandha on Thursday.
The situation was later brought under control with the intervention of the army, said Abdul Hakim Azad, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sundarganj Police Station.
According to locals, from Thursday morning, many men and women-including the woman and daughter whose names were not disclosed-from the char areas of Haripur in Gaibandha's Teesta River region came to visit a house in an area called Dhangarchar under Ward-9 of Haripur Union in Sundarganj upazila. There, some youths from Haripur who had also come to visit allegedly harassed several of the girls.
Nafiul Islam Sarkar, former chairman of Haripur Union in Sundarganj upazila, said the incident of harassment at the Shaharer Mor area of Dhangarchar quickly spread by word of mouth among residents of Chilmar墨 in Kurigram and Dhangarchar in Sundarganj, sparking tension between the two villages. As the day progressed, this tension escalated into repeated chases and counter-chases between villagers. At one point, both groups began making loudspeaker announcements, calling people to join the clash.
Around noon, villagers from Dhangarchar in Haripur Union-under both Chilmar墨 and Sundarganj upazilas-engaged in a violent clash using locally made weapons.
At least 32 people from both sides were injured in the violence. One of them was admitted to the Chilmar墨 Upazila Health Complex and later referred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital.
When the incident came to the attention of the district administrations of Kurigram and Gaibandha, army personnel were deployed to the spot and managed to bring the situation under control.
No complaint had been lodged with the police and no case had been filed at the station regarding the matter, added the OC.
