3 arrested over attack on visitors at Mirpur Shah Ali shrine

Police have arrested three people in a case filed over the attack on visitors at the shrine of Shah Ali Baghdadi in Mirpur, allegedly carried out by local activists linked to Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

The arrestees are Sheikh Md Sajjadul Haque Russell, Md Arman Dewan and Md Azam.

They were nabbed from the Shah Ali police station area on Saturday night (16 May), confirmed Deputy Commissioner of DMP’s Mirpur Division Md Mostak Sarkar.

He said further legal procedures against them were underway.

Earlier on 15 May, the incident took place around 1am during a weekly gathering and Urosh held beside a field inside the shrine premises.

However, Jamaat denied the involvement of party activists.

Following the incident, on Friday night (15 May), a woman named Mosammat Resmi Begum filed a case with Shah Ali Police Station against nine named individuals and 100-150 unidentified persons.

In the case statement, she said, “I have been visiting the shrine for around 17 years now. During urosh and other occasions at the shrine, I stay there and assist devotees. Every Thursday after evening, thousands of people gather at the shrine.

“At around 12am on 14 May, the named accused in the case along with 100/150 unidentified members of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its associate and affiliated organisations unlawfully gathered in a premeditated manner carrying sticks and entered the shrine premises through the main gate chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’.”

The statement added that they allegedly launched a sudden attack on visitors. They also pulled and tore the red cloth tied around the base of the shrine’s tree and vandalised the plates used for lighting candles, severely hurting religious sentiments.

“When I tried to stop the accused, they became enraged and assaulted me.”