Unidentified criminals shot and stabbed two people to death at Tebaria Bazar in Pabna's Santhia upazila yesterday evening.

The victims are Abdul Gafur, 55, and Idris Ali, 40, of Tebaria village.

Police said outlawed operatives might be behind the attack.

Jihadul Kabir, Pabna police superintendent, said some criminals suddenly attacked the two when Gafur was sitting at Idris' shop at Tebaria Bazar around 6:30pm. They shot and hacked the duo to death on the spot.

“We suspect that outlawed party activists launched the attack over a previous enmity. The attackers could not be identified immediately. Police are investigating the incident,” he said.

On information, police went to the spot and sent the bodies to Pabna Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsies, the SP said.

A tense situation was prevailing in the area. Additional police had been deployed to fend off further untoward incidents.