In Feni’s Chhagalnaiya upazila, a Jubo Dal activist, Abu Ahmad (37), was killed during a clash between two factions of the BNP over illegal soil extraction from agricultural land. The incident occurred around 3 a.m. on Saturday, 14 March, near a contractor’s mosque in Purba Shilua, Pathan Nagar union.
Two others were seriously injured: Ala Uddin Sujon (30), son of Zainal Abedin from Purba Pathan Nagar, and Nurul Alam Kala (40), the elder brother of the deceased. The injured were taken to Feni 250-bed General Hospital, where Abu Ahmad was pronounced dead. Sujon was later sent to Dhaka for advanced treatment, while Kala remains hospitalized in Feni.
Police have arrested seven individuals, including a Chhatra Dal leader, in connection with the clash. According to witnesses and police, the conflict arose after local BNP factions repeatedly violated a ban by the upazila administration on nighttime soil extraction, which had been ongoing for several days.
Chhagalnaiya OC Mohammad Shaheen Mia stated,
“The clash occurred at midnight over illegal soil extraction, leaving one dead and two injured. The body has been sent for postmortem.”
Locals also noted that recently, MP Rafiqul Alam Majnu took a strict stance to stop illegal soil cutting, but some BNP, Jubo Dal, Chhatra Dal, and allied members reportedly continued the practice under cover of darkness, transporting soil to nearby brickfields.
However, Chhagalnaiya Upazila BNP member-secretary Mohammad Almgir denied any involvement of the party or its affiliates, stating that the deceased had no connection to BNP or its organizations, and that the illegal soil extraction was carried out by independent groups due to administrative inaction.
