At least one person was killed and about 50 sustained injuries, including 15 officers, in a clash between law enforcement and BNP leaders and activists in Kuliarchar upazila of Kishoreganj in the morning on Tuesday, the first day of a three-day blockade announced by the opposition party.

Shariful Azam, joint organizing secretary of the BNP’s central committee, who was in the vicinity, said two people had been killed in police firing, while the police confirmed the death of only one person.

The deceased were local Chhatra Dal leader Refayet Ullah, 20, and Krishak Dal leader Billal Mian, 30, according to Shariful.

He said leaders and activists of the BNP and Jamaat gathered on a local road at around 9am enforce the blockade. 

“At the time police blocked our path. Afterwards when we started a procession on the road, police attacked our men, leading to a skirmish.”

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police Md Russell Sheikh said: “When the protesters created blockades on the road, the police tried to remove them. They launched an attack on police personnel, resulting in a clash. Police also fired rubber bullets to maintain order. At the time, 15 policemen, including the local police station OC, were injured.”

Apart from this, Billal Mian, president of the local union unit of Sramik Dal, had died, the police officer said, adding that additional forces had been deployed in the area to keep the situation under control.