12 houses burnt down in Bagerhat arson attack
Members of a hapless family wail in front of their house that turned into debris after yesterday's arson attack at Chinguri village in Chitalmari upazila under Bagerhat district.Photo: STAR
Twelve set-ups including eight dwelling houses were destroyed in an arson attack at Chinguri village in Kalatala union of Chitolmari upazila under the district early yesterday. Locals said a group of 50 to 60 people, allegedly supporters of Mohsin Mir, set fire to the houses owned by Sayeed Biswas, Mitul Biswas, Panna Biswas, Tutul Biswas, Wadud Biswas, Rustam Biswas, Tanu Biswas and Mosta Biswas after driving out the inmates and snatching away their mobile phones at around 2:30am yesterday. On information, a unit of Bagerhat fire brigade rushed to the spot and doused the flame after two and a half hours of hectic efforts, said Bagerhat Fire Station officer Joynal Abedin. The affected people claimed that the arson caused them loss of at least Tk 40 lakh. However, there was no report of casualty. Didarul Alam, inspector (investigation) of Chitolmari police station, said they could not trace the culprits behind the incident and no case was filed as of yesterday afternoon. He added that Mohsin Mir and Ruhul Amin Sharif had been at loggerheads over occupying of a large area of char land in the Madhumati River basin for long. As a sequel to the enmity, Shamsul Alam of Chinguri village, known as a supporter of Mohsin Mir, was hacked to death on April 18. Owners of the eight houses burnt down in yesterday's arson attack are charge-sheeted accused in Shamsul Alam murder case and all of them are absconding, Didarul Alam said. Mohsin Mir could not be contacted for his version about the incident. UNB reports from Pabna: Ten shops were gutted in a fierce fire at Sharatnagar Bazar in Bhangura upazila under the district Saturday night. Local people said the fire originated from an electric short circuit at a shoe shop of the bazaar at about 11:00pm and soon engulfed the adjacent nine shops. On information, fire fighters from the district headquarters rushed in and doused the fire after one and a half hours of hectic efforts with the help of local people. Affected shop owners, in preliminary estimate, put the loss from the fire at about Tk 1.5 crore.
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