Old video spread from 7 IDs before mob attack on shrine

In Daulatpur of Kushtia, an old video was circulated on Facebook the night before a pir was hacked to death in an attack on his shrine. The following day, a mob was formed and the shrine was attacked. Police had anticipated the attack several hours in advance. However, they failed to take adequate measures to ensure the security of the shrine. Police sources said that a local political leader was involved in the incident.

The shrine is located in Philipnagar village of Daulatpur upazila in Kushtia. The attack took place around 2:30 pm on Saturday, and pir Abdur Rahman, also known as Shamim, was killed. The shrine was vandalised and set on fire during the attack. Several hundred people took part in the attack. The deceased Shamim’s house is also in the same village. Yesterday, the pir’s name was mistakenly published as Shamim Reza.

The post-mortem of the body was completed at Kushtia General Hospital at around 12:30 pm on Sunday. Residential medical officer there, Hossain Imam told Prothom Alo that 15 to 18 hack wounds were found on the face of the deceased Abdur Rahman. There were injuries on other parts of his body a well. He died mainly due to excessive bleeding.

According to several local police officials, a 36-second old video began to be posted from three Facebook pages and four personal IDs late on Friday night. Links to the video, containing alleged blasphemy, continued to be shared on Messenger and various accounts among people in different villages of Philipnagar union until Saturday morning. Then at noon, an attack was carried out with more than a hundred people.

A police sub-inspector (SI), speaking on condition of anonymity, said he keeps track of the Philipnagar area. Of the seven IDs from which the videos were circulated, the identities of the admins of two or three have been identified. In addition, 15 to 18 people involved in the attack and vandalism have also been identified. The names of the Facebook IDs and pages are written in Bangla. One of them is named ‘Shotyer Shondhane Philipnagar’.

However, police did not disclose anything about the individuals involved. As of Sunday night, no case had been filed over the killing. Police said that Abdur Rahman was buried yesterday, Sunday after the post-mortem.

At around 9:00 am on Saturday, local police became aware of the circulation of the video. A police officer began speaking with several local leaders in the Philipnagar area about the matter. Discussions were held with them regarding the videos and whether anything might happen as a result.

A local police officer said that upon seeing the videos being circulated, they came to know of the involvement of a local leader of a religion-based political party. They called him to ask whether they had “any issue” with the shrine. The leader told them there was no such issue. However, he said they would hold a meeting in the area after Asr prayers with some local people from the union.

The police officer further said, “We had been in contact with him (that local leader) since the morning (Saturday). But at one point we realised that what he was saying was suspicious. He was firmly asked whether they had any meeting or plan to go to the shrine. The leader repeatedly said there would be a meeting after Asr. But it would not be at the shrine.”

“Meanwhile, multiple police teams were patrolling Philipnagar village. Two to three police personnel were also present at the shrine around 11:00 am. At around 2:36 pm, suddenly more than a hundred people came along the paved village road with sticks and began attacking the shrine. Some students from a local madrasa were also spotted among them,” he added.

At around 11:30 am Sunday, additional DIG of police (Khulna Range) Sheikh Zainuddin visited the scene. In response to a question from this correspondent as to why adequate measures were not taken despite intelligence agencies’ concerns that an attack might occur, he said, “We had received information in advance. Accordingly, some force (police personnel) was present here (at the shrine). But suddenly around noon, people from the locality gathered immediately. There is no failure here.”

Zamiran, a follower of pir Abdur Rahman and an eyewitness to the incident, was injured in his right hand during the attack. This correspondent spoke to her at a house in front of the shrine at around 11:00 am on Sunday. She said, “Around noon I was standing in front of the shrine’s gate. I saw several people marching with rods and sticks. Then they started vandalising the gate of the shrine.”

“Chanting slogans, they entered the shrine. Some of them began vandalising. They went in front of the pir’s room on the first floor of the shrine. They kicked the door open. Inside, they grabbed him by the throat, dragged him out and started beating him with the rods in their hands. They struck his head indiscriminately. They dragged him downstairs. There, one person was saying, ‘He’s still alive, beat him’,” she said.

With a choked voice, Zamiran continued, “They brought the pir downstairs while beating him. When they first brought him out, he folded his hands. He asked for a chance to speak. But as they were beating him indiscriminately, no one listened to him. When they brought him downstairs and were striking his head, face and nose indiscriminately with rods, he was heard saying only once, ‘Ya Murshid’. After that, he could not say anything more.”

She said that those who came with sticks numbered around 80 to 90. He said their ages were between 15 and 25. She added, “Seeing them come, we thought they might have come for some discussion. But we did not realise they would vandalise, attack and kill the pir. Later we understood they had come prepared. They killed him in a planned manner.”

From conversations with Abdur Rahman’s followers and members of his family, it was learnt that the shrine was attacked in two phases. In the first phase, 80 to 90 people took part in the attack. After carrying out the attack and killing Abdur Rahman, they left. In the second phase, 300 to 400 people took part in the attack. During the second attack, they carried out vandalism, looting and arson.

Abdur Rahman’s elder brother Fazlur Rahman said, “I saw my brother being hacked before my eyes, his entire body was soaked in blood. It is a matter of regret—if he had committed any wrongdoing, he could have been judged, but people cannot kill a person like this.”