Fire guts church in Srimangal

A fire broke out at St Mark Church in Fulchera village of Srimangal upazila under Moulvibazar district early yesterday, five days after in-charge of the church Father Subrata Bonifache received death threat via text message.

Police and local sources said, nobody was in the church when the incident took place.

Subash Daring, a Garo resident of Fulcherra area, said around 2:00am, they woke up and found the church burning. Later they tried to douse the blaze.

Local Christian people use the semi-pucca tin-roofed church house for prayers only on Sunday and on other days they use it as school for children.

The fire gutted all furniture and other valuables of the church, said Mahbubur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Srimangal Police Station.

 Police are investigating the matter, said the OC.

He claimed that the loss caused by the fire could go up to Tk 3 lakh.

Bishop Bejoy N. D' Cruze OMI, head of the Sylhet Diocese in the Sylhet Division, who also received death threat on December 22 along with father Subrata, said it could be done by the groups who threatened them.

Police said the fire seems to have originated from an electric short circuit of the solar panel.

But Bishop Cruze said, around six hundred people in that area are using solar power and such accident never happened before.

"So I doubt it was an act of sabotage," he said.

On December 22 Bishop Bejoy and father Subrata of St Mark church received cell phone text message that they would be killed soon.

Meanwhile fear gripped the local community following fire incident in the church.

Milton Sangma, president of Garo Panchayat Committee, said, worship as well as Garo children's religious lessons are conducted in this Church.

Nirmal Rozario, secretary general of Bangladesh Christian Association, said they are very concerned about their security.