Faridpur temple fire: Probe body finds no involvement of siblings who were lynched

The 7-member body formed to probe the lynching of two brothers following a fire in a temple at Panchapalli in Madhukhali upazila of Faridpur on 18 April has not found involvement of the victims in setting fire to the temple.

The committee headed by additional district magistrate (ADM) Md Siddik Ali submitted the report to deputy commissioner (DC) Qamrul Ahsan Talukder on 7 May, 20 days after the incident.

DC Qamrul told media on Sunday that the committee interviewed over 100 people who alleged that more than 100 people including local public representatives were involved in the mass beating.

"As it is a sub judice matter, we can't say anymore. However, some issues came up in the report," said the DC.

Replying to a question, he said the involvement of the two teen brothers in setting fire to the temple wasn't found in the statements of the interviewees.

"It couldn't be identified who set fire to the temple. No statement from the witnesses was found about the involvement of the two brothers or any worker in the fire incident," the DC said.

The DC said the probe committee submitted some recommendations in the report.

The recommendations included installing CCTV cameras and fire extinguishers to prevent such incidents and development activities including that in educational institutions should be implemented by informing local public representatives.

On 18 April, Kali idols caught fire at the Barwari temple in Hindu-dominated Panchapalli village.

Hindu residents became angry over the incident and locked seven workers, in a room of a government primary school in the area, on suspicion of their involvement in the desecration of the idols.

The workers were constructing a wash block at Panchapalli Government Primary School, 20 yards off the temple.

On information, Madhukhali police and upazila administration officials rushed to the spot but the mob also confined them. Later with the help of Faridpur District Sadar and Rajbari District Police, the besieged people were rescued after a few hours.

Seven workers were rescued with injuries and taken to Madhukhali Upazila Health Complex and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital in Faridpur. Two of the injured succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment.

The deceased were Ashraful, 20, and his younger brother Ashadul, 15, sons of Shahjahan Khan of Ghoperghat village under Naowarpara union of the upazila.

Following the incident, the local administration formed a three-member probe committee led by Md Siddik Ali. Later the members of the committee were increased to seven.

Later, the victims' father Shahjahan filed a case with Madhukhali police station in this connection.

Moreover, another case was filed by temple's worshipper Topoti Rani Mandal for setting fire on it and one more case by a police officer for barring law enforcers from performing duty, damaging public property and arson.

Police have arrested 31 people in the cases till now and drives are on to arrest the rest.