The house of a man named Shankar Saha was attacked and vandalized in Barachona village of Sakhipur, Tangail, on charges of ‘insulting Muslims’ in a comment on the social media Facebook. At that time, in the absence of Shankar Saha at the scene, an angry Muslim mob beat up his grandson Joy Saha. The incident took place on Saturday (March 29, 2025).
Local people including Upazila Executive Officer Abdullah Al Roni, OC Zakir Hossain and local administration officials, Upazila BNP President Bir Muktijoddha Shajahan Saju and local people attended the Upazila Parishad hall room on Tuesday (April 01, 2025) to resolve the issue. However, even if the issue is not resolved today, it has been decided to sit at the same place tomorrow, Wednesday (April 02) at 11 am, said local UP member Mizanur Rahman.
On Tuesday, a site visit to the house revealed the remains of vandalized items. It is learnt that Shankar Saha is living in Tangail city due to the uninhabitable house and insecurity. It is to be noted that on Saturday (March 29) afternoon, an objectionable comment was made about Muslims from Shankar Saha’s Facebook ID. Local Muslims were angered when the comment immediately spread on social media.
However, the accused Shankar Saha said that someone intentionally hacked his Facebook ID and made the comment. He filed a general diary (GD) with Sakhipur police station on Saturday night in this incident. Shankar Saha said that he is associated with BNP politics. Taking advantage of the situation, a party is trying to incite religious riots around him. Demanding justice for those involved in the attack, he said, “All the belongings in my house have been broken and smashed. In addition, many valuable belongings belonging to my father and grandfather kept in my house for safekeeping have been destroyed and stolen.”
Shankar Saha’s sister, local shopkeeper Maya Rani Saha, said, “I caught foot of the vandals and told them to forgive us. Take everything valuable but don’t destroy the houses.” But they didn’t listen to anything. They just kept destroying. Regarding the attackers, Maya Rani Saha further said, “Everyone was leaving in a procession when local businessman Md. Sabuj, Ward 4 Jubo League President Azharul Islam of Undivided Kalia Union and his son Shahriar Ozael, and Chhatra League activist Md. Maruf Hasan called everyone and incited them to attack the houses.”
Sabuj, accused of the attack, said, “I was in the procession but was not involved in vandalizing the house.” Meanwhile, Sabuj has filed a case against Shankar Saha at the police station on charges of hurting religious sentiments. On the other hand, the day after the incident, Shankar Saha was expelled from the co-organizing post of Barachona Union BNP through a press release signed by the Upazila BNP President and General Secretary.
Sakhipur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Zakir Hossain said that a local man named Sabuj filed a case alleging that he hurt religious sentiments. Shankar Saha has been named as an accused in that case. Later, Shankar Saha’s wife Shiuli Rani filed a counter-case accusing one to 150 unidentified people of attacking, vandalizing and looting houses. Video, Source-kalbela.com.
