Motorcade attacked in Gopalganj: Swechchhasebak Dal leader killed, 50 hurt

A leader of the Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal was killed and 50 people were injured in an attack allegedly by Awami League men in Gopalganj’s Sadar upazila yesterday.
The deceased, Shawkat Ali Didar, 40, was the sports affairs secretary of Swechchhasebak Dal central committee, reports our Faridpur correspondent quoting police and locals.
Of the injured, 21 were admitted to Gopalganj 250-Bed General Hospital.
Sharif Rafikuzzaman, convener of Gopalganj district unit BNP, said after holding a rally at Bedgram intersection around 5:00pm, a motorcade of Swechchhasebak Dal president SM Jilani left for Tungipara.
As the motorcade reached Ghonapara, 200-300 leaders and activists of AL and its affiliates intercepted them and attacked BNP and Swechchhasebak Dal leaders with lethal weapons, said Rafikuzzaman.
The attackers also vandalised 10 cars. At least 50 leaders and workers of the BNP and its associate bodies were injured in the attack, he said.
SM Jilani and his wife, Roshan Ara Ratna, president of Gopalganj District Mohila Dal, were sent to Dhaka for better treatment, he added.
Mohammad Anisur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Gopalganj Sadar Police Station, said the incident occurred in the Ghonapara area around 5:00pm when a motorcade of SM Jilani was heading towards Tungipara.
Upon receiving information, police went to the spot and brought the situation under control around 6:00pm. During the incident, 10 cars and several shops were vandalised, he said.
Rahman said Didar’s body was recovered from the Charpatalia area around 7:30pm.
Sikdar Shahidul Islam Lelin, president of Gopalganj Sadar upazila unit BNP, said, “We were on our way to Tungipara to visit the graves of SM Jilani’s parents. When we reached Ghonapara, hundreds of Awami League leaders and activists, led by Amin Mollah, Gopalganj municipality councillor, and Gobra Union Awami League president Alimuzzaman, attacked us.”
Contacted, AL leader Alimuzzaman alleged that BNP activists tore down banners bearing pictures of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the Ghonapara area while the motorcade was passing through.
“When we protested, the BNP men attacked us. A number of Awami League activists, including myself, were injured in the attack,” said Alimuzzaman.
Jibitesh Biswas, superintendent of Gopalganj 250-Bed General Hospital, confirmed that 21 people were admitted to the hospital, most with injuries inflicted by lethal weapons.
Four of them were transferred to Dhaka for better treatment, he said. He also said police brought one body to the hospital.