15 sued for torching Hindu house in Sylhet, one held

Police early yesterday arrested one of the 15 accused in the case for torching a house of a Hindu family in Golapganj upazila of Sylhet on Saturday.

The arrestee is MA Shahed, 40, a resident of Barkot village in the upazila.

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Victim Ripon's father Nagendra Deb filed a case with Golapganj Police Station accusing 15 people, including one Akbar Ali of the village, on Sunday, Officer-in-Charge Fazlul Haque Shibly of the police station said.

A team of the law enforcer, led by Sub-Inspector Mridul Kanti Bhoumik, also the investigation officer of the case, raided the village and arrested Shahed from his house.

On Saturday, a gang led by Akbar Ali swooped on the house of Ripon Deb around 9:00pm to grab his land, said Kajal Das, convener of Hindu-Bouddha -Christian Oikya Parishad in Golapganj upazila said.

The gang also stabbed three members of the family when they tried to resist them from grabbing the land, police quoted locals as saying. They also vandalised, looted and torched the house.

Injured Ripon Deb, his wife and daughter were admitted to Golapganj Upazila Health Complex the same night.

The extent of loss caused by the fire could go up to Tk 5 lakh, Nagendra Deb claimed.