‘Towhidi Janata’ set fire to shrine in Barguna’s Amtali

A mob identifying itself as members of “Towhidi Janata” has set fire to a shrine after vandalising it in Barguna’s Amtali Upazila.

The attackers also destroyed food prepared for devotees who had gathered at the site.

The incident took place at the “Ismail Shah Baba” mazar, or shrine, on Amtali's Battola Road in the wee hours of Monday, according to Ariful Islam, chief of Amtali Police Station.

Locals said several hundred individuals, armed with sticks, had marched in a procession to the shrine in an apparent effort to prevent a religious gathering.

As they reached the site, more people from surrounding villages joined them, escalating the violence.

Barguna Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shafiul Alam visited the shrine on Monday morning, where, he said, he had urged all parties to remain calm.

“The situation is under control,” he said.

“I have instructed police to conduct a thorough investigation.”

Witnesses and law-enforcing agencies said the mob ransacked the shrine, set parts of it on fire, and looted valuables.

Furniture was smashed, metal roofing sheets were torn down, and bricks from the walls were removed.

When police arrived, they were initially unable to intervene, as the “Towhidi Janata” had surrounded the shrine and lit fires around it.

Mostafizur Rahman Babul, general secretary of the “Ismail Shah Baba” shrine’s committee, said the attack disrupted a prayer gathering marking the holy month of Ramadan.

Around 150 devotees had assembled for the event, for which nearly 300kg of rice had been cooked to be served as tabarak, a traditional meal for worshippers.

“But after midnight, some 250 to 300 people, led by Omar Farooq, president of the Amtali branch of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, attacked the shrine,” Babul said.

“They vandalised the place, set it on fire, and threw away the cooked food.”

Babul said that despite the authorities being alerted immediately, law-enforcing agencies struggled to disperse the mob.

Two tin-roofed houses behind the shrine were completely destroyed in the blaze.

Farooq, however, defended the attack, accusing shrine organisers of engaging in activities he described as “anti-Islamic”.

“The shrine was established in 1996 by Mostafizur Rahman Babul, and for years, it has been a site of bid’ah and shirk,” he said, using terms that denote religious innovation and idolatry.

“Despite efforts to stop these practices, he continued to hold events where men and women mixed freely, played music, and, at times, engaged in drug use.”

The fire service reported that the blaze, which started at 12:40am, caused damages estimated at approximately Tk 500,000), though goods worth nearly double that amount were salvaged.

Local authorities are now working to mediate between the two sides.

“The deputy commissioner has met with both parties, and they have agreed to maintain peace,” said Ariful.

“The government will oversee the restoration of the shrine.”