More than 50 people, including women, were injured in a clash between two groups over a longstanding dispute concerning a graveyard in Kalmakanda upazila of Netrokona on Friday.
Several houses and shops were also vandalised during the clash, which broke out in the Amghara area of Rangchhati Union in the morning.
Police and local residents said people from Amghara and Pulia Paneshwarpara had been in dispute for years over ownership of the graveyard land and its status as waqf property.
Residents of both villages have traditionally used the graveyard to bury their loved ones. Tensions had also been mounting over the proposed construction of a market beside the graveyard and other related issues.
The dispute escalated on Friday morning when people from both sides confronted each other with locally made weapons.
Bricks and stones kept at the site for road construction were also used during the clash, with the two groups hurling projectiles and engaging in physical altercations.
Local residents rescued the injured and took them to Kalmakanda Upazila Health Complex. After providing first aid, doctors referred six people to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital for further treatment.
Mostafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Kalmakanda Police Station, said the clash was the result of the longstanding dispute between the two villages over ownership of the graveyard land and waqf property.
“Several people were injured in the clash. Police rushed to the scene after receiving the information and brought the situation under control,” he said.
The situation is now under control, and police have been deployed at the scene to prevent any further violence, the OC added.
