Noakhali Chhatra Dal activist allegedly shot following row over watching World Cup match

A local Chhatra Dal activist was shot in Noakhali's Chatkhil upazila last night following a dispute reportedly linked to watching a World Cup football match, with his family accusing local Awami League activists of carrying out the attack.

The incident occurred in Sreepur village of Khilpara union at around 9:30pm, said Md Saiful Islam, in-charge of the Khilpara Police Outpost.

The injured, Md Shahadat, 22, is a candidate for the post of general secretary of ward no. 3 Chhatra Dal in Khilpara union.

Shahadat's elder brother, Md Habib, said, “Shahadat is involved in Chhatra Dal politics and I am involved with the Khilpara union Jubo Dal. Since August 5, 2024, I have been writing on social media against various irregularities committed by local Awami League leaders. Due to those writings, some local Awami League members have been threatening the two of us in various ways. At around 9.30pm on Thursday, some local Jubo League leaders locked into an altercation with Shahadat. At one point, Jubo League leaders Jabed, Morshed, Masum and Riyad fired shots targeting Shahadat. Shahadat was shot in the lower abdomen and thigh. Later, family members rescued him and admitted him to a hospital in the district town."

“A young man from Chatkhil arrived at the hospital's emergency department at around 10:30pm on Thursday with a gunshot wound to his lower abdomen,” Noakhali 250-bed General Hospital Resident Medical Officer Dr Rajib Ahammed Chowdhury told The Daily Star this afternoon.

After receiving primary treatment, the patient's relatives took him to Dhaka later last night, he added.

A businessman from Sreepur village, speaking on condition of anonymity, said local residents had gathered at Sreepur Government Primary School to watch the June 22 World Cup match between Argentina and Austria.

After Argentina scored, supporters repeatedly burst firecrackers in celebration, prompting others to object because of the late hour, he said. The disagreement escalated into an altercation and scuffle.

He said the dispute ultimately culminated in last night's shooting at around 9:30pm and that he later learned a Chhatra Dal activist had been shot.

Saiful Islam Kiron, former chairman of no. 9 Khilpara union and a BNP leader, alleged that the injured Shahadat himself is an armed criminal.

Abdul Monnaf, officer-in-charge of Chatkhil Police Station, said a dispute among local teenagers had broken out over a football match. Later, when their guardians became involved, tensions escalated into a clash.

He said Shahadat's family claimed he had been injured by gunfire. However, police officers who visited the scene initially found no evidence of a shooting.

According to local residents a crude bomb had exploded at the scene.

Police said the incident remains under investigation and is being treated with high priority.