Official and local sources said 10 of the injured villagers suffered bullet wounds as police and BDR fired 166 rounds of bullet, rubber bullet and teargas shells to disperse the people locked in fighting.

Police arrested 50 people including Kalikachha union Chairman Ahmedur Rahman on the scene.

Witnesses said more than 10 thousand villagers from the two unions clashed for about five hours. Earlier leaders from the two sides incited the villagers to violence, using microphones of the mosques at about 10:00 am.

During the mayhem, the marauders ransacked and set fire to 20 houses of the two unions.

Three platoons of paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles personnel were called in to quell the raging violence. They managed to bring the situation under control at about 3:00pm.

BDR Captain Shahriar, Additional Superintendent of Police Jahangir Hossain, ASP Quamruzzaman, Magistrates Habibur Rahman and Mamun Miah were among the injured.

Of the bullet-hit, Shafiqul Islam, 25, Ear Khan, 34, Abdul Alim, 27, and Rokeya Begum, 27, were admitted to Brahmanbaria Sadar Hospital and the other to Sarail Sadar Hospital and different clinics in the area.

Additional police and BDR men have been deployed to avert further flare-ups.