Witnesses said the assailants swooped on Shahabuddin, also former chairman of Bagra Union Parishad (UP), at about 7:45am while he was going to Bagra Bazar.

They stabbed the headmaster in the abdomen and fired several shots in the head. He died instantly.

Shahabuddin was one of the witnesses in the Monwar Ali murder case in which 16 people were sentenced to death.

Following the incident, Shahabuddin's supporters put up barricades on the Dhaka-Dohar road, disrupting traffic for two hours.

On information, police rushed to the spot and engaged in clashes with the agitating people that left several injured.