Amid the ongoing wave of protests in Bangladesh, a seven-year-old girl was burnt to death and three others were seriously injured when the house of a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader was locked from outside and set on fire in Lakshmipur Sadar upazila in the early hours of Saturday.
The incident took place around 1 am (local time) at the residence of Belal Hossain in West Char Mansa village, police said. Hossain is a businessman and assistant organizing secretary of BNP’s Bhabaniganj Union, according to a report by Bangladeshi media The Daily Star.
The BNP leader and his two other daughters Salma Akter (16) and Samia Akter (14) suffered severe burns. Belal is being treated at Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital, while his daughters – who have suffered 50-60% burns on their bodies – have been sent to Dhaka for advanced care.
what exactly happened
Belal’s mother, Hazira Begum, told the outlet that she had gone to sleep when she woke up around 1 a.m. to find her son’s house on fire. She tried to get into the burning house, but found that both entrances to the building were locked.
The woman claimed the miscreants locked both doors and set fire to the house by dousing it with petrol, but could not identify who was responsible.
“After dinner, I went to sleep. I woke up around 1:00 a.m. and saw through the window that my son’s tin shed was on fire. I ran outside screaming, but found that both doors of the house were locked from the outside. I could not get in. Finally, my son managed to break the door and escape. His wife Nazma also managed to get out with their six-year-old son Hobirssa, six-month-old son A. Habib,” Hazira Begum was quoted by The Daily Star.
Burn victims in ‘critical condition’
Belal’s daughter, seven-year-old Ayesha Akter, was burnt to death while two other daughters were sent to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka as their condition was said to be critical.
The BNP leader and his daughters were first taken to Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital from where the teenagers were shifted to the burn surgery institute.
The tragic incident comes amid a new wave of protests that have swept Bangladesh following the assassination attempt on Sharif Osman Hadi. Prominent leader of the 2024 Bangladesh insurgency – Hadi died in Singapore after being shot dead.
Bangladesh riots
– In a statement released Friday, Bangladesh’s interim Muhammed Yunus administration called on citizens to stand up to intimidation, arson and destruction of property, stressing that such actions – carried out by what it described as a small group of fringe elements – risk undermining peace at a critical moment for the country.
– On Friday, a Hindu youth named Dipu Chandra Das was barbarically lynched after being accused of blasphemy. His lifeless body was then set on fire by the crowd.
– Earlier on Saturday, a senior adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, said seven suspects believed to be involved in the death of a Hindu youth in Mymensingh had been arrested.
