Rafiqul Islam, Kushtia Correspondent : A clash took place between BNP and Jamaat leaders and activists in Kumarkhali, Kushtia, over extortion on the road.

The incident took place at around 4 pm on Wednesday (July 16) in the Kazipara intersection area of Kumarkhali municipality.

Two people from both sides were reported to have been injured in the incident. Additional police have been deployed to maintain normalcy.

The injured are: Rakib Hossain (40), convener and leaseholder of Kumarkhali Municipality Zia Mancha. He is undergoing treatment at Kushtia General Hospital.

The other injured is Saiful Islam Shovon (30), general secretary of Jubo Jamaat of ward 2 of the municipality and son of Nayeb-e-Ameer Afzal Hossain of Upazila Jamaat. He has now left for treatment.

Locals said that Zia Mancha convener Rakib Hossain had taken a lease for the movement of vehicles and parking in the municipal area for a year. On Wednesday afternoon, when an auto driver friend of Yuba Jamaat leader Shovon came to the Kazipara area, Rakib`s colleagues, the leaseholder, demanded a donation of Tk 20 through a receipt. At that time, the auto driver called Shovon instead of paying the money. When Shovon came to Kazipara with his people, a fight broke out with Rakib`s supporters, the leaseholder. At one point, they got into a fight with country-made sharp weapons.

Yuba Jamaat leader Saiful Islam Shovon said, Rakib`s people beat us up because we were forbidden to take donations from our friends. My hand was cut off. I don`t know who beat them.

Former general secretary of the Upazila Jubo Dal Atiqur Rahman Sabuj said, Rakib is a BNP member. He is the convener of the Zia Mancha in the municipality. Rakib has multiple bruises on his head.

Upazila Jamaat Naib Amir Afzal Hossain said that he will inform later after learning what happened.

In this regard, Kumarkhali Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Solaiman Sheikh said that several people were injured in the clash between the two sides over the withdrawal of the lease money. One person has been sent to Kushtia Sadar Hospital in critical condition. Legal action will be taken if a written complaint is received. Currently, the law and order situation is normal.