At least two youths were killed and more than 20 others were injured in a clash between two groups over alleged harassment of girls at village Abdullahpur of Debidwar upazila in Cumilla early Thursday.
The deceased were identified as 20-year-old Saiful, son of Habibur Rahman, and 19-year-old Fahim, son of Renu Mia of the same village.
Amir Ullah, assistant superintendent of Brahmanpara circle police, said that the clash broke out at the house of a local resident where a haldi ceremony, a pre-marriage ritual, was organised on Wednesday evening.
‘As girls and boys were showing off their dance moves at the programme, a group of youths from the neighbouring village Gunjar of Muradnagar upazila crashed the haldi function and started harassing the girls on the dance floor,’ the officer said.
This led to an altercation between the boys on the dance floor and the group of youths, Amir said. ‘Subsequently, the youths were driven out of the house by the owner.’
The group left the spot only to come back again with more youths from village Gunjar.
‘Around 1:00am, residents of village Abdullahpur caught the outsiders, triggering the clash,’ the police officer said.
Two youths of Abdullahpur died in the clash and the injured were hospitalised.
‘Four of the injured were shifted to Cumilla Medical College and Hospital. The death toll may rise as at least three of the injured are in a critical condition,’ Amir said.
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