No evidence of disrespecting Quran in Lalmonirhat: Probe body

No evidence of disrespecting the holy Quran has been found against the person, who was beaten and burned to death in Patgram upazila following a rumour, says an investigation report submitted to the Lalmonirhat district administration.

The probe committee, formed by the local administration, submitted the report on Thursday, reports news agency UNB.

“There’s no evidence of disrespecting the holy Quran,” says the report.

Additional district magistrate TMA Momin handed over the report to the Lalmonirhat deputy commissioner.

“We didn’t get any evidence of disrespecting the Quran. It’s only a rumour which was spread deliberately,” Momin said.

The probe report was made after taking written and verbal statements of 50 people. It has four recommendations, he said while talking to newspersons at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Additional SP Rabiul Islam, said, “We’ve collected 17-20 video clips of the incident that went viral on Facebook and gleaned information from those.”

Additional superintendent of police in Lalmonirhat, Rabiul Islam, and deputy director of fire service and civil defence Shahidul Islam were present there.

The three-member probe body was formed on 30 October following the barbaric incident.

On 29 October, Shahidunnabi Jewel, former librarian of Rangpur Cantonment Public School and College, was beaten to death by a mob in Patgram after some people accused him of “disrespecting the Quran.” They also burned his body.

Jewel’s cousin Saiful Islam filed a case with Patgram police station on 31 October. Two more cases were also lodged in this connection and a three-member probe body was formed to look into the incident.

So far, 25 people have been arrested in three cases filed over the lynching. Of them, 18 were sent to jail while nine were placed in remand.

Detectives arrested the prime accused, Abul Hossain, 45, from the capital’s Kuril Biswa Road on 7 November.