Dhaka Correspondent Md. Shahjahan Bashar:
Police have arrested three Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists in connection with the attack, vandalism and torture of pilgrims at the Hazrat Shah Ali (R.) Shrine in Mirpur, the capital. Law enforcement agencies said they were arrested after analyzing CCTV footage and conducting special raids in different areas of Mirpur.
Shah Ali Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Jahangir Alam said that among those arrested, Sheikh Md. Russell and Azam are the accused in the case and Arman Dewan is an unknown accused in the case. Their political identities have been verified and identified as Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists.
Police sources said that the movements of the attackers were clearly captured in the CCTV footage at the time of the incident. After analyzing the footage, a raid was conducted to identify their location. The raid is also continuing to arrest others involved in the incident.
Resmi Begum, a regular devotee of the shrine, filed a case with Shah Ali Police Station on Saturday night. The case names 9 people and 100 to 150 unidentified Jamaat leaders and activists.
The complaint states that on the night of May 14, during the pilgrimage and vow, organized attackers entered the shrine with sticks and ambushed the devotees. Several devotees, including men and women, were seriously injured in the attack. The red cloth of the tree in the shrine premises was torn, the candle plate was vandalized and the religious atmosphere was destroyed.
The plaintiff, Resmi Begum, alleged that when she tried to stop the attackers, she was beaten and subjected to sexual harassment. At one stage, an attacker hit her on the head with a stick, causing her to be seriously injured. It has also been alleged that about 90,000 taka was snatched from the devotees.
There has been a huge sensation in the area after the incident. Local devotees and the general public have demanded speedy trial of the attackers. People from different walks of life have expressed their anger over the heinous attack on a religious place. Police say they are carefully examining CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts and other evidence for the sake of the investigation.