Mob beats man, son, hands over to police for ‘hurting religious sentiment’, OC makes controversial statement

A mob gathered in Sadar upazila of Lalmonirhat and beat up a barber and his son on allegations of hurting religious sentiment and then handed over to the police on Monday.

Following the incident, remarks made by the Sadar police station officer-in-charge (OC) Mohammad Nurun Nabi in front of the public sparked criticism.

A group of people formed a mob and caused a commotion at the barber shop of Paresh Chandra Shil, 69, and his son Bishnu Chandra Shil, 35, at Hanif Paglar intersection in the town on Sunday afternoon.

They accused the father and son of hurting the religious sentiment and physically assaulted them.

A video circulating on social media shows the mob attacking the two. Later, a team from the Sadar police station rescued them from the mob and took them to the station.

As the news of the incident spread after a video made the rounds on social media, several hundred devotees gathered in front of the police station, chanting slogans.

Additional police and military personnel were deployed to control the situation. At that time, OC Nurun Nabi addressed the mob. Video clips of his speech surfaced on a social media platform on Tuesday.

In the video, the OC is heard saying, “As an OC, it is my responsibility to maintain law and order. But what happened today has also set my heart on fire. Like you, I too had tears in my eyes. How can such audacity happen in this country? I give you my word: as I have arrested them, I will ensure that they will face such a case in Bangladesh that they will either be sentenced to life imprisonment or executed…”

When asked, OC Nurun Nabi told Prothom Alo that the viral statement was made to calm the crowd and manage the situation. He claimed there was no other motive behind his speech.

Lalmonirhat superintendent of police (SP) Mohammad Tarikul Islam said the OC has been warned after his comments made rounds on social media.

He further said no untoward incident occurred due to effective measures taken by the police and military personnel, and the situation remains under control.

None will be allowed to engage in mob justice, he warned.

Md Abdul Aziz, imam of Namatari Al Hera Jame Mosque in the upazila town, filed a case against Paresh Chandra Shil and Bishnu Chandra Shil with the police station on allegation of carrying out religiously provocative activities and hurting religious sentiments.

The two were shown arrested in the case on Sunday evening and sent to jail via court order.

Dipti Rani Shil, wife of the arrested Bishnu Chandra, said she visited her husband and father-in-law in jail. They told her that there was an altercation with a customer over a haircut charge on Friday.

She further said two days later, some people allegedly misled local devotees, brought hundreds of people to the barber shop, beat the two, and handed them over to police.

“There is no one else in the family to earn. We feel insecure. I demand the release of my husband and father-in-law,” she said.

Plaintiff Md Abdul Aziz, 29, claimed to Prothom Alo that the barbers made offensive remarks about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his wives in front of many people.

According to him, the accused apologised and admitted their wrongdoing in the presence of the public and worshippers on Sunday afternoon.

He claimed that now their family is trying to divert the issue by referring to an argument over haircut charges, which is untrue.

Meanwhile, a protest march and rally were held in the town on Tuesday afternoon under the banner of ‘Sammilito Musallibrindo, Goshala Bazar Jame Mosque’ to protest the alleged derogatory remarks made about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his wives.

A memorandum was also submitted to the deputy commissioner demanding justice.