Two Villages Clash in Sherpur After Loudspeaker Call, Three Police Among Injured, Highway Blocked Four and a Half Hours
People from two villages clashed at the Dakpara Bang-er Mor area of Charpakhimari Union in Sherpur Sadar upazila after gathering following announcements made over loudspeakers. Several people on both sides, including three police members, were injured in the clash on Saturday morning (31 October).
Traffic on the Sherpur-Jamalpur regional highway was halted for about four and a half hours during the clash. Villagers from both sides blocked the road from 6:00 am until 10:30 am on Saturday.
Police and local sources said that on Friday morning, a farmer from the Dakpara area had an altercation with several local people at the Satpakia raw market over a trivial matter. At one stage the farmer was beaten, and tension spread between the people of the two villages.
Later on Friday night, both sides took steps to gather people through loudspeaker announcements. Acting on those announcements, villagers from both sides took positions on the two sides of the highway on Saturday morning.
At one stage, the two sides clashed with locally made weapons and chased and counter-chased each other. Several people from both sides, including three police members, were injured by brickbats. The identities of the injured were not immediately known.
On receiving the news, Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Nasrin Akter and Sherpur Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Khokon Chandra Ghosh reached the spot. Their intervention brought the situation under control, and traffic on the road returned to normal at around 10:30 am.
OC Khokon Chandra Ghosh said the fighting began on Friday at the raw market after a collision involving a van. The people of the two villages then announced over loudspeakers that they would gather on Saturday morning. Police had been positioned at the spot since dawn, and when the two sides suddenly clashed, traffic stopped temporarily.
He added that the situation is now calm and traffic on the road is normal. Neither side has filed a written complaint so far.
