Our Correspondent
Two BGB men were killed as a truck hit their motorcycle on the Dhaka-Dinajpur highway in Fulbari upazila of Dinajpur, sparking a clash between the paramilitary forces and the locals on Friday afternoon.
At least 14 people were injured, three by bullet wounds, as aggrieved BGB members of nearby Battalion-29 swooped on the local people and fired bullets in after the road accident, said Ruhul Amin, Superintendent of Police in Dinajpur.
A speeding truck rammed the motorcycle carrying BGB jawans -- Md Al Amin, 19, and Md Rubel, 20, -- in Rangamati area around 1:20pm when they were returning from Birampur upazila, leaving them dead on the spot. Police recovered the bodies of the BGB jawans and sent those to Dinajpur Medical College and Hospital for autopsy.
Hearing the incident some agitated BGB members went to the spot and attacked the local people and vandalised several roadside shops, leaving 10 people injured. However, senior BGB officials took the vandalising jawans back to the barrack, said a police official.
As the locals took to the Dhaka-Dinajpur highway protesting the attack, the BGB men went there from their camp which is 50 metres away from the spot, triggering a fresh clash. Fulbari OC Rezaul Islam said the accident took place in front of the Upazila's Shanta-Kanta Rice Mill on the Dinajpur-Fulbari Highway. The OC said quoting other BGB members that a BGB team recovered Phensidyl along with a motorcycle in an anti-drug raid at the District's Nawabganj upazila.
Amin and Rubel were on their way back with the recovered bike when they were hit by a truck that came in from the opposite direction.
A BGB pick-up van that was following the riders rushed them to the Fulbari Upazila Health Complex where the doctors pronounced them dead. OC Rezaul said the driver fled with the truck after the accident. Later the vehicle was found after a search but the driver is absconding.
The injured including three with bullet wounds were admitted to Fulbari upazila Health Complex. One of the injured was taken to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital.
District Deputy Commissioner, Ahmed Shamim Al Raji, and Police Super Ruhul Amin told the Daily Observer the local administration was trying to control the situation.
Additional police forces have been deployed in the area under an executive magistrate to avert any untoward situation, they added.
Lt Col Jahidur Rashid BGB 29 Battalion Commander told the Daily Observer, "The local criminals killed the BGB members while they were returning to the camp after conducting a drive against the smugglers." "We will file separate cases for the incident," he said.
The local people claimed that the BGB members attacked them without any reason.