Photo for representational purposes
Credit: Reuters photo
With tensions rising day-by-day, Bangladesh is teetering on the edge of destruction as reports of vandalism and chaos are emerging from every nook and corner of the city. In the early hours of Saturday, a seven year-old child was killed after a house was set on fire by unidentified miscreants.
The incident occurred in the Lakshmipur Sadar upazila at around 1:00 am.
According to Bangladesh's English newspaper, Daily Star, Belal Hossain, a businessman and assistant organising secretary of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Bhabaniganj Union, was attacked in his house in the middle of the night.
Some unidentified miscreants set his house on fire which led to the death of Belal's seven-year-old daughter, Ayesha Akter. His other two daughters, Salma Akter, 16, and Samia Akter, 14, suffered critical burn injuries. Belal too is undergoing treatment.
Belal's mother recounted that she woke up in the middle of the night and saw that her son's tin-shed house was set on fire. She rushed outside and found that the house had been locked from the outside.
"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," she narrated to the English daily.
She said her granddaughters were sleeping in the other room when the house was set on fire. The two elders ones received severe burn injuries but were rescued and are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka. However, the youngest one wasn't able to survive and succumbed to her burn injuries.
Another relative said that upon noticing the fire, they rushed to the shed and began calling for help. The blaze was eventually put down by the fire department.
Ranjit Kumar Das, station officer of Lakshmipur Fire Service, stated, "We reached the spot and brought the fire under control. We recovered the body of one child and rescued three others with burn injuries. Two of them are in critical condition.
The Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Lakshmipur Sadar Model Thana, Md Wahid Parvez, who inspected the site, said, "We are investigating who committed this act and the motive behind it."
The death of Bangladesh youth leader has sparked violent protests across the country.