Viral video shows youths firing shotguns in Feni

Two young men have been spotted in a viral video while firing shotguns in public in Feni district town.

Local leaders of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have claimed that the armed youths are activists of Chhatra League and Jubo League, the ruling party’s student and youth fronts.

The video was recorded on Tuesday evening when the two youths opened fire with shotguns on a Chhatra Dal procession, they alleged.

Both Jubo League and Chhatra League, however, have denied the allegation of firing, while the police said they are yet to identify the youths.

The nearly two-minute video is now making rounds on social media platforms, creating panic in the locality.

According to the video, the two armed youths -- one donned a helmet and the other a muffler -- were accompanied by a group of cohorts in front of a local shop, where they fired several rounds of bullets.

Morshed Alam, general secretary of Chhatra Dal’s Feni district unit, told Prothom Alo that they faced an attack after bringing out a procession in the district town around 7:15 pm on Tuesday.

Loyalists of Chhatra League and Jubo League chased them and opened fire. At least 10 protesters sustained injuries in the attack, while two suffered bullet wounds, he said.

Morshed declined to disclose the identities of the injured activists, fearing that the police would implicate them in cases if identified.

Tofayel Ahmed, president of Chhatra League’s district unit, denied the allegation and termed it as false and fabricated.

Jubo League president Didarul Kabir echoed the denial, saying that their activists do not possess firearms and did not use any arms on that day.

However, he admitted to incidents of chase and counter-chase with Chhatra Dal men on the day.

Shahidul Islam Chowdhury, officer-in-charge (OC) of Feni sadar model police station, said they have seen the video clip but have not yet dug into the incident. He vowed to bring the involved individuals to justice once they are identified.