What began as a simple Ludo game during Ramadan in March this year has turned into six months of simmering hostility -- finally erupting into a deadly clash that left one man dead and at least 30 others injured in Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila early yesterday.

The victim, identified as Nasir Mia, 65, of Birampur village, was killed when two rival groups -- the "Harun chairman group" and the "Iqbal–Anis Member–Sachhu group" -- clashed with local weapons around 5:00am yesterday, said Mohammad Azharul Islam, officer-in-charge of Brahmanbaria Sadar Police Station, quoting locals.

Police sent the body to Brahmanbaria General Hospital morgue for autopsy.

During the hours-long clash, several houses and shops were vandalised and at least four homesteads were set on fire, he added.

Locals said many were wearing helmets, life jackets and cricket pads during the clash.

Police eventually brought the situation under control, said the OC.

Mohammad Nasir Uddin, chairman of Sadekpur Union Parishad, said the fight was the culmination of months of tension that began with a quarrel over a Ludo match between two villagers, Jewel of Pirbari and Hadis Mia of Khalpar, during Ramadan.

Jewel supports the "Harun chairman group", while Hadis belongs to the other camp.

That dispute spiralled into a series of violent confrontations, injuring around 20 people earlier this year. Local elders later arranged an arbitration, which ordered Hadis to pay Tk 1.2 lakh to Jewel. But Hadis's failure to pay reignited anger and fuelled long-standing enmity between the two sides, he added.

No case was filed yet, police said.