According to Jhenidah and Kushtia police, a group of 20 armed men allegedly belonging to Gono Bahini cordoned off a house in the village at about 3:00am where at least 10 cadres of outlawed Gono Mukti Fouj (GMF) were holding a secret meeting.

The Gono Bahini men caught five GMF cadres, while others managed to flee. They took the GMF cadres to Tribeni Kuthipara field at gunpoint, beat them up and slit their throats.

The dead are Nuru Kana, 32, son of Fatikuddin of Abdalpur and Sariful Islam, 35, son of Arab Ali of Ratulpara in Kushtia Sadar upazila and Sahid, 32, son of Khaibar, Newaz, 35, son of Moinuddin and Tariqul Alam, 27, of Tribeni.

Police recovered the bodies yesterday morning and sent them to Jhenidah Sadar Hospital for autopsy.

Police said the five were killed over a feud between the two underground outfits over establishing supremacy in the area.

Police have launched a hunt for the killers. Senior police officials, including deputy inspector general of police (DIG), Khulna range, Aziz Sarkar, visited the area.

Additional police and Bangladesh Rifles personnel have been deployed in the area.