The incident, which was sparked centring a conference of the BNP youth front’s unit, left 30 persons including four police personnel wounded.

The injured police personnel are Officer-in-charge (OC) of Kotwali Model Police Station Mohiuddin Mahmud, sub-inspectors (SI) Mosaddekul Maula and Md Shahjahan, and a havildar.

Police picked up 15 persons on charges of involvement in the incident, and recovered a revolver, a bullet, and a cocktail from the spot.

During the clash, 10 cocktails were exploded and at least 20 shots were fired by a faction of Jubo Dal activists, some of whom were in black masks.

Students of educational institutions and pedestrians ran for cover as the feuding groups chased each other. Shops pulled their shutters down. Police fired tear gas shells to bring the situation under control.

Police, leaders and workers of Jubo Dal, and other witnesses said followers of Comilla district unit BNP General Secretary Aminur Rashid Yasin, and supporters of his rival — former organising secretary of the party unit Monirul Haque Sakku, took positions against each other at the Town Hall in the morning.

The clash started around 12:00pm when Sakku’s followers threw a Molotov cocktail at the rear of a microbus carrying the organisation’s central leaders including its President Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal. The vehicle was entering the Town Hall Auditorium premises, the venue of the conference scheduled to start at 10:00am.

They then exploded nine more cocktails at the Chowrangi Crossing area.

Some of Sakku’s followers were wearing black masks and were armed with pistols, LGs, revolvers, and sawed-off rifles. They fired shots at the Town Hall ground that was empty by then.

At least 20 gun shots were heard. Two young men in jeans and T-shirts were seen firing guns, but their identities could not be known immediately.

At one stage, supporters of Yasin, armed with sticks, chased their rivals, sparking an exchange of brickbats.

Later police came to the scene and lobbed tear gas canisters to disperse the warring groups.

Sakku’s supporters Milon, Ferdaus, and Russell were hit by bullets, and were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Mazharul Islam, a fourth year accounting student of Comilla Government College, was hit by a bullet in the chest.

OC Mohiuddin Mahmud was injured in the leg, SI Mosaddekul Maula was injured in the head and abdomen, SI Md Shahjahan and the havildar were injured in the hands. Four pedestrians were also injured, who were admitted to local clinics.

Police recovered an abandoned revolver from the front of the district BNP office.

Rapid Action Battalion arrived at the spot around 1:30pm.

District Jubo Dal Joint Convener Ashikur Rahman Mahmud Wasim, a supporter of Yasin, said, “Our rivals opened fire in broad daylight in a bid to foil the conference, but their attempt failed.”

The unit’s First Joint Convener Nazrul Islam Bhuiyan, a follower of Sakku, said, “I was in charge of conducting the conference. I don’t know what happened outside.”

Police picked up 15 persons from the conference venue on charges of involvement in the incident, who are Md Sumon, 20, Mostafizur Rahman, 35, Hridoy, 20, Rony, 25, Ripon, 20, Abul Hasan, 24, Monir Hossain, 24, Yasin, 20, Pavel, 28, Jahir, 22, Rafiqul Islam, 22, Anu Miah, 35, Rubel, 25, Kishore Kumar Debnath, 35, and Ripon, 20.

The students were made to vacate the residential halls by 6:00pm to ward off further clashes.

Campus sources said the clash began on Wednesday night when a BCL faction led by Biva attacked the rival group at Hall No 1 with sticks leaving seven activists wounded.

Vice-Principal Dr Mosleh Uddin said the decision to close the college was taken by the academic council.

Expressing dissatisfaction, general students said despite the ban on student politics on the campus, BCL was divided in line with recent BMA election in the district intensifying the rivalry.

Kazi Matiul Islam, officer-in-charge of Kotwali thana, said additional police have been deployed on the campus to avert further trouble.