A former union parishad member was killed in Sylhet’s Osmaninagar Upazila after being attacked while trying to stop a violent clash between two brothers over a land dispute.
The victim, Atiq Miah (42), was a former member of Ward No. 9 of Burunga Union Parishad and a resident of West Sirajnagar village. He was critically injured after being hacked and beaten during the incident on Wednesday evening.
According to local residents and police, two brothers of the village—Aklis Miah and Pachu Miah—had been locked in a long-running dispute over land. A case related to the dispute is currently pending in court. Pachu Miah and several others were released on bail just a day earlier, following which tensions between the two sides flared up again.
On Wednesday (31 December) evening, Aklis Miah called for a village arbitration meeting, or salish, involving local elders to resolve the issue. Atiq Miah was present at the meeting. However, as villagers gathered, members of the opposing group suddenly launched an attack.
When those present tried to calm the situation and stop the fighting, they too came under assault. Atiq Mia was seriously injured after being struck with sharp weapons and beaten.
He was rushed to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead around 7:00pm.
Osmaninagar police station officer-in-charge Md Morshedul Hasan Bhuiyan confirmed the incident. He said the body would be handed over to the family after an autopsy and that police are conducting raids to arrest those involved.