A 50-year-old teacher of a local madrasah was killed and 50 others were injured in a clash between two groups of villagers over 'establishing supremacy' at Haripur in Jointapur upazila of Sylhet district.
The deceased was identified as Saleh Ahmed, son of Sifat Ali of Hemu Bhatpara village in the upazila. He was a teacher of Mejortila Tahfizul Quran Madrasha in Sylhet city.
The clash broke out between a group loyal to Abdur Rashid, former chairman of Fatehpur union and resident of Lama Shyampur village, and the residents of Haudpara village around midnight on Sunday, and continued till 7am on Monday.
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Lutfur Rahman, additional superintendent of Sylhet Police, said the two groups had been at loggerheads for long over establishing control of the area, that would give them access to various illegal rents and extortion opportunities.
On Sunday, tension escalated among the two groups over the issue, mostly the residents of Hadpara and Shaympur villages.
They at one point gathered at Haripur Bazar and hurled brickbats at each other, triggering a clash.
Around 7 am, some madrasah people along with police rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control.
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Police fired tear gas shells to disperse them. Saleh was injured by a tear gas shell. He later died.
Additional police have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order situation.