A 7-year-old girl, daughter of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Belal Hossain, died when a mob torched their home in Lakshmipur Sadar upazila on Saturday, reports the Daily Star. The 1 a.m. blaze critically injured her father, a businessman and Bhabaniganj Union BNP secretary and her sisters Salma (16) and Samia (14).
The incident took place around 1 a.m. at the home of Belal Hossain, a businessman and assistant organising secretary of Bhabaniganj Union BNP. During the fire, Belal and his two daughters, 16-year-old Salma Akter and 14-year-old Samia Akter, sustained severe burn injuries.
Belal’s mother, Hazera Begum, said she woke up around 1 a.m. to find her son’s tin-shed house on fire, and although both doors were locked from the outside, Belal managed to break a door and escape with his wife, Nazma, their four-month-old infant, Abir Hossain, and their six-year-old son, Habib.
“I went to sleep after dinner. Around 1:00 am, I woke up and saw through the window that my son’s tin-shed house was on fire. I ran out screaming but found both doors of the house locked from the outside. I couldn’t enter. Eventually, my son managed to break the door and escape. His wife, Nazma, also managed to get out with their four-month-old infant, Abir Hossain, and six-year-old son, Habib,” TOI quoted Hazara Begum as saying.
A police official told The Daily Star: “We are probing the perpetrators and their motive.”
Dr Arup Pal, Residential Medical Officer (RMO) at Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital, said the two teenage girls and their father arrived at the emergency department around 2 am with severe burns. Belal Hossain remains admitted, but the girls, 50-60% burned, were rushed to Dhaka’s National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in critical condition.
“Two teenage girls and their father were brought to the emergency department with burn injuries around 2:00 am. Belal Hossain has been admitted here, but the two girls were referred to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka, as their condition is critical. About 50-60% of their bodies have been burnt,” The Daily Star quoted Dr Pal as saying.
This incident follows violence that erupted across Bangladesh a day after student leader Sharif Osman Hadi’s death. Hadi, a prominent youth leader, was shot in the head by masked assailants on December 12. He succumbed to injuries in Singapore on December 18 despite overseas treatment. Protests escalated with crowds torching a news channel in Dhaka, targeting Indian diplomatic sites, and attacking ex-Awami League properties. His funeral drew massive crowds in Dhaka on December 20 amid tight security.
