Three people have been arrested in connection with the recent clashes in New Market that claimed two lives, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) said on Thursday.

The arrestees have been identified as Moazzem Hossain Sajeeb, 23, son of Abdul Mannan of Keraniganj, Mehedi Hassan Bappi, 21, son of Hawladar of Barishal district, and Mahmudul Hasan Siam, 21, son of Hasan Ali of Shariatpur district.

The three were arrested from Shariatpur and Cox’s Bazar districts on Wednesday night, Rab officials said.

Also read: New Market clashes: 5 Dhaka College students arrested

Commander Al Moin, director of Rab's legal and media wing, said Bappi was directly involved in delivery man Nahid's killing.

“Bappi and Sajeeb were employees of Welcome Fast Food. The initial clash erupted when staffers of Capital Fast Food and Welcome Fast Food got engaged in heated arguments over placing tables for selling good before Iftar on April 18."

Later, 10-15 miscreants, known to the staffers of Welcome Fast Food, appeared there around 11.30pm and started beating up the staff of Capital Fast Food.

At one stage, both groups attacked each other, triggering the clash that spread to the Dhaka College area the following day, said Moin.

Bappi and Sajeeb went into hiding after the clashes and to conceal their identities, they had a haircut and had been trying to grab jobs at hotels in Cox’s Bazar.

Besides, in the CCTV footage of the area, Siam was found stabbing delivery man Nahid during the clashes. He also went into hiding to avoid arrest, Moin said. “Legal steps are being initiated against them."

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Two people were killed and more than 30 others, including journalists and students, were injured as the students of Dhaka College clashed with the traders of New Market at Nilkhet intersection recently.

Shopkeepers alleged that the students were beaten up as they had refused to foot the bill at an eatery.

Police subsequently registered four cases against 1,400 people in connection with the clashes.

Earlier on April 28, police arrested five students of Dhaka College in connection with the clashes at New Market.

AKM Hafiz Akter, additional commissioner of the detective branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, had said that the five were directly involved in the clashes between the Dhaka College students and New Market shopkeepers.

Later, they were placed on police remand on the same day.