A violent dispute over the lucrative lease and territorial dominance of Pushpapara Hat, one of northern Bangladesh’s largest livestock markets, ended in blood on Thursday evening when two local political figures were shot dead inside the leaseholder’s office. The victims, who were uncle and nephew, were targeted by a gang of masked assailants in Pabna Sadar upazila. The brutal double murder occurred at approximately 7:00 pm under the jurisdiction of Ataikula Police Station, sending shockwaves through the local community.
Police identified the deceased as 57-year-old Abdus Salam, the long-standing leaseholder of the market and Sadar Upazila Convenor of the banned Shramik League, and his nephew, 35-year-old Ripon Hossain, who served as the Ataikula Union President of the Shramik Dal. Both men resided in Pushpapara village within Sadar upazila. Salam was the son of Araj Ali, whilst Ripon was the son of local Union Parishad member Omed Ali. Alongside his political responsibilities, Ripon worked closely with his uncle as an associate in managing the daily operations of the bustling cattle market.
Eyewitnesses and police reports indicate that the two men were working inside the market office on Thursday evening when the attack unfolded with sudden, devastating force. A gang of five to seven masked gunmen stormed the premises without warning. Before either man could react, the armed assailants opened fire at close range, discharging multiple rounds directly at Salam. Seeing his uncle targeted, Ripon attempted to step in to shield him, only to be shot as well. Both men collapsed onto the office floor bleeding heavily as the attackers fled the scene.
Drawn by the sound of gunfire, nearby traders and local residents rushed into the office shortly after the gunmen escaped. They immediately retrieved the two badly injured men and arranged for their urgent transportation to Pabna General Hospital. Upon arrival, however, attending physicians declared both Salam and Ripon dead on arrival. The Inspector (Investigation) of Ataikula Police Station confirmed that police teams arrived swiftly to secure the crime scene and transferred the bodies to the Pabna General Hospital morgue for mandatory post-mortem examinations.
Pushpapara Hat holds immense economic significance as a premier livestock trading hub in northern Bangladesh, where transactions worth tens of millions of taka take place regularly. The massive financial stakes associated with managing the market have turned the surrounding area into a volatile crime hotspot plagued by bitter rivalries and connections to outlawed extremist outfits. Superintendent of Police in Pabna, Abu Ashraf, who inspected the crime scene late on Thursday night, noted that Salam had maintained control over the market lease for the past seven years, an unusually long tenure that fostered deep-seated animosity among rival groups.
Investigators are examining multiple angles surrounding the killings, including family ties to illegal extremist networks. Authorities confirmed that Salam’s elder brother is a regional leader of the outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party (ML Lal Pataka) who was recently released from prison on bail after serving a lengthy sentence. SP Abu Ashraf affirmed that law enforcement agencies are pursuing all leads to identify the masked gunmen and determine whether the assassination was driven solely by market control or linked to broader factional feuds. An atmosphere of intense panic and tension currently prevails across the Pushpapara area.
