At least 40 people were injured, one critically, and four to five shops were vandalised during two separate violent clashes in Brahmanbaria’s Nasirnagar upazila and Kishoreganj’s Bhairab town on Thursday.
The incidents, triggered by trivial disputes over playing music on a mobile phone loudspeaker and a controversial Facebook post, required intervention by law enforcement and local authorities to restore order.
Nasirnagar Clash Over Loudspeaker Music
In Brahmanbaria, at least 25 people were wounded in a fierce two-hour clash between two opposing factions at Dharmandal village in Nasirnagar upazila on Thursday afternoon.
According to police and local sources, the confrontation began when Yasin, a resident of Dharmandal village, walked past the house of his neighbour, Babla, playing music loudly on a mobile phone loudspeaker.
Babla objected to the loud music, sparking an immediate verbal argument and physical scuffle between the two men.
The tension escalated later in the afternoon when local residents convened an informal arbitration meeting to resolve the dispute.
Instead of settling the matter, hundreds of villagers from both factions joined the fray equipped with domestic weapons, resulting in a widespread violent clash that lasted nearly two hours.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Nasirnagar Police Station Shahinur Islam confirmed that the dispute originated from playing music on a mobile speaker.
He stated that 20 to 25 people were injured and assured that the situation is currently under police control.
Bhairab Violent Outbreak Over Facebook Post
Meanwhile, in Kishoreganj, more than 15 people were injured and four to five shops were vandalised during repeated clashes between two groups in Ward No. 2 of Bhairab municipality.
The clashes broke out around 7pm on Thursday and continued intermittently until 10:30pm.
The trouble stemmed from a social media post made by Maulana Shahriar, son of Siraj Miah of Mirbari in Bhairabpur Dakshinpara.
Shahriar uploaded a video alongside a written statement on his personal Facebook account, alleging that a US expatriate, Iqbal Miah, had forcibly occupied local land in Bhairabpur Dakshinpara to construct a multi-storey building.
Disturbed by the post, Rayhan Miah, son of Dulal Miah from nearby Amjad Ali’s house, engaged in a heated argument with Shahriar around noon.
Although locals reportedly arbitrated and settled the dispute in the afternoon, fresh violence erupted around 7:30pm as opposing factions attacked each other with domestic weapons. During the violence, four to five shops were vandalised.
Among the injured, a youth named Rahad sustained critical injuries and was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for advanced treatment.
Upon receiving reports of the violence, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) KM Mamunur Rashid, Bhairab Police Station OC Md Mahbubur Rahman, and members of the SRB rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control.
OC Md Mahbubur Rahman explained that the initial noon quarrel had supposedly been resolved by locals, but armed fighting broke out again in the evening.
He added that strict legal action would be taken against those disrupting law and order.
Expressing deep concern, UNO KM Mamunur Rashid noted that trivial matters are increasingly escalating into clashes in Bhairab town, stressing the need for social awareness and active leadership from local community figures to resolve such issues.
