A local Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader and his wife sustained sharp-weapon injuries in Joypurhat’s Akkelpur sub-district after opposing illegal sand extraction from agricultural land, which had severely damaged rural roads.
The violent altercation occurred around 8:30 pm on Friday (2 October) at the Chak Rowair village intersection within Rukindipur Union. Both injured victims and the accused attacker—a local leader associated with the Zia Parishad, an affiliate organisation of the BNP—are currently undergoing treatment at the Akkelpur Upazila Health Complex.
The injured political figure was identified as Alamgir Hossain Alam, Vice-President of the Ward No. 9 unit of Rukindipur Union BNP, and his wife, Mahbuba Khatun. The accused individual, Atiar Rahman Suman, serves as a local leader of the upazila Zia Parishad unit and is also hospitalised with injuries following the clash.
Tensions had been building in the locality for weeks over heavy tractors transporting soil and sand extracted from fertile farmland. The continuous movement of heavy vehicles degraded local rural roads, causing widespread hardship for residents and damaging agricultural acreage. Alamgir Hossain actively protested against the practice and reported the matter to senior party colleagues.
To resolve the dispute, Aminul Islam, President of the Rukindipur Union BNP, scheduled an arbitration meeting between both factions for Saturday. However, on Friday evening—a day prior to the mediation—an argument broke out between Alamgir and Atiar at the Rowair market.
According to eye-witness accounts and the victim’s statement, Atiar produced a sharp weapon during the altercation and attacked Alamgir. When Mahbuba Khatun stepped in to protect her husband, she was also struck and wounded.
Alamgir alleged that the assault was triggered by his opposition to illegal sand mining and his refusal to pay extortion money demanded by Atiar. Conversely, Atiar refuted the allegations, denying any involvement in sand extraction. He asserted that Alamgir was involved in illegal narcotics trade and claimed that Alamgir’s supporters initiated the violence against him when he protested against drug dealing.
Aminul Islam confirmed that the long-standing dispute centered on sand extraction, adding that the scheduled arbitration failed to prevent Friday night’s clash.
Officer-in-Charge of Akkelpur Police Station, Mehedi Hasan, stated that law enforcement officers visited the hospital and interviewed the parties involved. Police confirmed that formal legal action will commence once written complaints are officially lodged.
