Gunmen stormed the office of a market co-operative and fired a fusillade of bullets killing a man and injuring seven others in broad daylight at an under- construction market at Mirpur section 1, in the city on Monday afternoon.(The New Age BD)

In protest, students of Mirpur Bangla College took to the streets and attacked vehicles on Darussalam Road disrupting traffic for more than two hours.

Rivalry over land grabbing and supremacy in the area between two local groups is believed to have led to the bloody incident.

Local gangsters Shahadat and Khorshed ran a slum on the government land during the rule of the BNP-led alliance but it was demolished by the caretaker government. After the Awami League-led alliance assumed office, people backed by city Chhatra League leader, Anwar Hossain Litu, occupied the land and built the market.

Abdur Rahim, 40, bodyguard of Litu, died on way to hospital while Anwar, also general secretary of Swadhin Bangla Samabaya Samity, and six others sustained bullet wounds.

According to witnesses, the gangsters numbering 10 or 12 attacked the Swadhin Bangla Super Market Samabaya Samity office, housed on the ground floor of the under-construction market opposite Sony cinema at Mirpur section 1, at around 2:45pm, spraying bullets and leaving the eight people inside critically injured.

�I saw 10 or 12 gunmen on four motorbikes park 100 metres from the market and walk into the office,� Niyat Ali, a roadside vendor, told New Age.

�Within moments, I heard the sound of a burst of gunfire. While coming out the gunmen fired in the air to scare off the crowd before speeding away,� he said.

Locals and fellow traders took the injured to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where the on-duty doctors declared Abdur Rahim dead.

Those who sustained bullets wounds were Anwar Hossain Litu, 36, in the forehead, Khokon, 35, in the left arm and abdomen, Mehdi Hasan, 30, in the left leg, Bishu, 32, in the abdomen and left arm, Solaiman Hazi, 60, in the right leg, Kamal Hossian 34, in the abdomen and Sekander Molla, 47, in the left thigh, They were admitted to DMCH.

Iqbal Hossain Titu, elder brother of Litu, told New Age, �My brother was the target, but others also fell victim and one of them lost his life��

�Henchmen of Shamser Ali and local Shahadat-Khorshed group carried out the attack,� he said.

Abdur Rahim, worked at the shop of Litu�s younger brother Kamal Hossain, a cable operator. Kamal was also hit by bullets in the attack.

Local residents alleged that Shahadat-Khorshed gang with the help of local influential Shamser Ali, son of Sharafat Ali, illegally occupied the land and built a slum during the rule of the BNP-led government.

The land was freed during the rule of the caretaker government and Litu occupied the land in January this year in the name of Swadhin Bangla Super Market. A case remained pending in this connection.

Gangsters killed Litu�s younger brother Monu on August 15, 2006, following the dispute.

Md Nizamuddin, officer-in-charge of Mirpur police station,told New Age,

�We believe Chhatra League leader Litu was the target of the assailants.

We primarily suspect the bloody incident was the result of rivalry over the control of the market and cable business.�

President of the market association, Abdul Hai, told New Age, �Wanted criminals Shahadat and Khorshed, who are in hiding, demanded Taka 1 crore as toll from us and the attack was a sequel to our refusal.�

Assistant commissioner Mainul Hasan of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Mirpur zone) told New Age, �We are investigating the incident� Political rivalry as well as business dispute and row over toll collection could be the reason but we cannot say anything for sure before investigation.�

Earlier on June 26, armed assailants shot dead three businessmen and injured another at the traders� association office at Karwan Bazar over refusal to pay toll.