Locals said the 'controversial' Pir [a cult leader], Maolana Dillur Rahman, along with 300 companions on January 30 checked into Nurani Hotel to hold a rally.

The locals protested the rally and demanded expulsion of Rahman, also known as Rajarbaghi Pir, and his men for his 'anti-Islamic activities'.

The police at 10:00pm removed a podium erected for the rally, but about 4,000 people under the banner of Imam Muezzin Oikya Parishad continued agitation for his expulsion.

At one stage, Rahman's followers pelted the mob with stones from the roof of the hotel, resulting in a counter attack, witnesses said.

The police intervened and fired gunshots and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the mob. The area around the old bus terminal in the town turned a battlefield as the

police and the mob chased each other for one and a half hours.

Officials of the district administration finally forced the Pir to leave the town with his men at 2:45am.

Of the injured, 25 were committed to Sunamganj General Hospital, sources said. Police said about 20 of their men were also injured.