The dead was identified as Kabir Hossain Sana, 45, son of Kurban Ali Sana.

Among the injured Khairul Islam, Ala Uddin, Akram Hossain, Khadija Khatun, Jeher Ali, Sufia Khatun, Abdur Rahim, Malek, Jabbar and others were admitted to Satkhira Sadar Hospital and local clinics.

Sources said a group of land grabbers led by Mahabbat Mir, Abdul Gafoor, outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) leader Abdul Halim, Pute, Ebadul and Ohab Ali Peyada attacked the landless people around 12:30am yesterday. They fired 20-25 shots at the residents of the government khas land.

Panic gripped the locals and they called, over cellphone, Officer-in-charge (OC) of Kaliganj Police Station Nur Islam for help. The OC asked them to leave their homes and gather at a remote edge of the land they are living on, local sources said.

The landless people followed the OC's instructions but around 5:00am the attackers started firing at them. Kabir and the others were hit by bullets then. Kabir was rushed to Satkhira Sadar Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Quoting locals, police said over 300 landless families were residing on 300 acres of government khas land. They took lease of the land from the government in 2002.

Since taking lease, a group of influential land grabbers, who had been illegally occupying the land, was trying to evict them, sources said. They had launched attacks eight times on the landless people earlier and had beaten an old man to death in 2005.

Over 500 landless people with Kabir's body went to the residence of superintendent of police (SP) of Satkhira and a local army camp yesterday afternoon demanding arrest and exemplary punishment to the killers.

A case was filed with Kaliganj Police Station accusing 25 people.