Chattogram Metropolitan BNP convener and party candidate for the Chattogram-8 (Boalkhali–Pahartali) constituency, Ershad Ullah, was shot and injured during a campaign in the city’s Bayezid area on Wednesday evening.
Two others, Sarwar Hossain Babla and Abdul Kader, a local Swechchhasebak Dal leader, were also wounded in the incident. Babla later succumbed to his injuries, say police sources.
Chattogram Metropolitan BNP Vice-President Shawkat Azam Khaja told TIMES of Bangladesh that Ershad Ullah and the other injured were taken to Evercare Hospital in the city. He said the attack occurred around 5:45pm in Ward 3 of Bayezid area.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are not immediately clear.
Doctors said Ershad Ullah sustained a gunshot wound to his leg and is now out of danger.
Eyewitnesses said the shooting occurred shortly after Maghrib prayers, when Ershad Ullah began campaigning in Chalitatali Khandkarpara area of the Bayezid area.
During the programme, local resident Sarwar Hossain Babla reportedly joined the campaign procession and was shot in the head from behind, while Ershad Ullah and Abdul Kader were also hit by bullets amid the chaos.
BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury condemned the attack, calling it “a deliberate attempt to destabilise the election atmosphere.”
He made the remarks while addressing a Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal event at the Chattogram Press Club on Wednesday.
