A scuffle broke out between two rival groups at the Bangladesh Economic Association's (BEA) Eskaton office in Dhaka yesterday, prompting police intervention to restore order.

Professor Azizur Rahman, president of a committee formed on an ad hoc basis and apparently comprising members who lost the election to the BEA in May last year, spoke to journalists afterward.

He claimed that he and a group of 20-30 individuals were stopped by police when they attempted to enter the organisation's office.

However, he alleged that members of the panel elected to run the BEA attacked his group, injuring several associates, some of whom were later hospitalised.

From 2008 to 2024, the BEA went through its "darkest period," with the leadership turning it into a personal and politically affiliated institution, claimed Rahman.

"These individuals must be removed, and fresh elections should be held. Some of them are linked to irregularities in the banking sector," he claimed.

Speaking at the event, Syed Mahbub I Jamal, general secretary of the ad hoc committee, criticised the election process adopted by the BEA over the past 16-17 years.

He claimed that elections were systematically manipulated to ensure that a single panel remained in control without competition.