Five injured in pellet gun attack over illegal sand extraction in Brahmanbaria

At least five people were shot when a group of individuals opened fire after villagers obstructed illegal sand extraction from the Meghna River in Brahmanbaria's Nabinagar upazila this morning (22 February).

The incident took place in the Charlapang area. The injured are Nurul Amin, 40, Rouf Mia, 45, Safar Miah, 50, Siam, 16, and Ibrahim, 30. They are receiving treatment at the hospital.

According to police and local sources, a company named Samiul Traders had leased a sand quarry in the Meghna River in Nabinagar.

However, villagers alleged that the company crossed the fixed boundaries and began extracting sand from the Charlapang area, creating a risk of erosion to agricultural land and nearby localities.

When the company resumed sand extraction this morning, villagers obstructed them, leading to tension between the two sides.

At one stage, a group of people arrived in speedboats and boats from the Mirzachar area of neighbouring Raipura upazila in Narsingdi and fired pellet guns at villagers, leaving five people injured.

Villagers alleged that the attack was linked to their obstruction of what they described as illegal sand extraction.

Piyas Basak, additional superintendent of police (Nabinagar circle) in Brahmanbaria, said police were sent to the spot after receiving
information about the incident. Efforts are underway to identify and arrest those involved.

Shafiqul Islam, sub-assistant community medical officer of Nabinagar Upazila Health Complex, said five people were treated at the hospital in the morning with pellet gun injuries. He said all of them were out of danger.

Attempts to contact representatives of Samiul Traders for comment were unsuccessful.