DC and SP’s vehicles vandalised as mob tries to snatch 2 detainees

The body of a missing child has been recovered in Aditmari, Lalmonirhat. Acting on information from local residents at around 8:00 am today, Tuesday, police recovered the body at about 10:00 am after finding it buried inside a sack in a maize field in a village of the upazila.

When two people from the same village were detained as suspects, local residents formed a mob and attempted to take them into their own custody.

The incident led to repeated attacks on law enforcement and administrative officials, six government vehicles were vandalised, and the detainees’ house was set on fire. Between 30 and 35 people, including the NDC and police personnel, were injured.

The deceased child was seven years old and the daughter of a farmer from the village. She had been missing since around 3:00 pm on Monday. Her family and local residents suspect that she was raped and then murdered, and that efforts were made to conceal the body.

The two suspects detained are 20-year-old Sri Bidhan Chandra Barman and his father, Ranjit Chandra Barman, both from the same village. The mob violence took place between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm.

According to sources from the district administration, police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), local residents and public representatives, villagers learned this morning that the child’s body had been buried in a sack in a maize field beside her home.

Members from Aditmari Police Station went to recover the body after receiving the information, while Lalmonirhat Detective Branch (DB) police also arrived at the scene.

Police Superintendent Md Asaduzzaman, Additional Superintendent of Police Shahadat Hossain and several other senior police officials visited the site. During the operation, DB police received information from local residents that suspect Bidhan Chandra Barman was hiding inside a large paddy storage container at a house in the village.

Bidhan was detained during a raid, and his father Ranjit Chandra Barman was arrested subsequently. It was around 1:00 pm at the time. Soon afterwards, angry crowds began gathering from all directions.

The crowd eventually turned into a mob and demanded that the two detainees be handed over to them, attempting to take the law into their own hands. However, considering the risk to life and the illegality of such a move, police tried to keep the two men in official custody.

At one stage, the agitated crowd began pelting police with bricks and stones and attacking them with sticks. As the situation deteriorated, the police superintendent informed the Lalmonirhat deputy commissioner over the phone. The deputy commissioner immediately sought assistance from the Lalmonirhat-15 BGB Battalion.

Although police managed to keep Bidhan Chandra Barman and Ranjit Chandra Barman in custody, law enforcement agencies were unable to protect their house, which was set ablaze. Several neighbouring houses were also vandalised. Videos of the incident later spread on social media, prompting more people to join the agitated crowd.

Md Al Amin, NDC (Nezarat Deputy Collector) of Lalmonirhat, was among those injured by brick attacks from the agitated crowd. He said, “Before we could fully understand what was happening, bricks and stones were raining down from all directions. Once the situation became somewhat normal, we returned to Lalmonirhat from the scene.”

Police Superintendent Md Asaduzzaman said a section of angry local residents created a mob and resorted to intimidation to force authorities to hand over the detained father and son. When police refused, the crowd began hurling bricks and stones at law enforcement personnel.

Between 30 and 35 government officials and employees, including NDC Al Amin and police personnel, were injured. They received primary treatment at Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital. Legal action is being taken against the two detainees, and preparations are underway to file multiple cases over the incident.

The police superintendent added that six government vehicles, including those used by the deputy commissioner and the police superintendent, were vandalised. Police also fired three sound grenades to bring the situation under control.

No casualties were reported. As authorities were unable to contain the unrest, Aditmari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Nazmul Haque was withdrawn and transferred to the district police lines.

Rajib Kumar Saha, the physician in charge of the emergency department at the 250-bed Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital, said that between 30 and 35 people, including NDC Al Amin and police personnel, received primary treatment. All are out of danger and none required hospital admission.

Deputy Commissioner Md Rashedul Haque Pradhan said, “As soon as I received the police superintendent’s call, BGB was deployed. After that, a mobile court from the district administration, the district council administrator AKM Mominul Haque and I went to the scene and tried to calm local residents.”

“At one point, locals attempted to take away the two detainees. Later, while we were transporting the accused and injured police personnel, some people erected barricades with bamboo poles and started throwing bricks and stones. As a result, six vehicles, including mine and the police superintendent’s, were damaged, and several people, including NDC Md Al Amin, were injured. The injured have received primary treatment,” added the official.

The deputy commissioner also said that the administration, along with political stakeholders, is working to restore normalcy. Additional members of both police and BGB have been deployed at various points, including Falimari in Bhelabari Union of Aditmari upazila.