A man was shot dead and another critically injured in an attack by rivals over local dominance in Munshiganj Sadar upazila early today.

The deceased was identified as Arif Mir, 35. His cousin, Imran, was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition, said Saiful Alam, officer-in-charge of Munshiganj Sadar Police Station.

The incident occurred at Char Dumuria village around 6:00am when the two men were reportedly ambushed by armed assailants shortly after leaving their home, the victims' families said.

According to local sources, the attack is believed to be linked to a longstanding rivalry between two factions of the local BNP. One faction is led by Shah Kamal—an aide to district BNP convening committee member Atiq Mallik and Mollakandi Union BNP president Ohid Molla—while the opposing group is loyal to Awlad Hossain, former vice-president of the union BNP and a close associate of the victim, Arif.

Neighbours rushed the victims to Munshiganj General Hospital, where Arif was declared "brought dead". Imran received initial treatment before being referred to Dhaka.

Ruhul Amin of Munshiganj General Hospital stated, "Both men had suffered gunshot wounds. One was already dead when brought in. The other was sent to Dhaka after initial treatment."

Confirming the murder, OC Saiful Alam said police responded promptly and deployed additional forces to the area to prevent further violence. "The situation remains tense," he added.

Efforts are underway to identify and arrest the attackers. As of 11:30am, sporadic clashes were still ongoing between the rival groups following the deadly attack.

This is the second such incident in the area in recent weeks. On November 2, a 22-year-old man was shot dead in Mollakandi Union, also allegedly due to previous enmity.