Chain locked on house door and set on fire, couple escapes by cutting tin fence

Lal Mia and his wife Mosammat Begum have escaped after miscreants allegedly chained the door of their dwelling house from outside and set it on fire in Sakhipur of Tangail. Although the house was gutted by the fire, the couple managed to come out by cutting the tin fence. Lal Mia sustained burn injuries in the incident and is undergoing treatment at hospital.

The incident took place around 2:30am at Ukhariyachala area of Gargobindapur village under ward No. 6 of Sakhipur municipality on Friday night.

Talking to the victim family and locals, it was learnt that fire was set to Lal Mia’s dwelling house at some point during the night. When the heat of the fire woke them up, Lal Mia and his wife tried to come out of the house. Failing to open the door, they realised that a chain had been locked on the door from outside.

They later cut the tin fence of the house with a dao and boti and came out. Lal Mia got burnt in the fire at that time. With the help of locals, he was admitted to Sakhipur Upazila Health Complex the same night.

Lal Mia alleged that they have a land dispute with some neighbours. A case is also pending in court over the matter. He also claimed that he had been threatened with death two days before the incident.

Neighbours Azmat Ali and his wife Rukia said they rushed to the spot after hearing the sound of crying at night. On reaching there, they saw the outer door of the house locked with a chain and fire burning inside. In the meantime, Lal Mia and his wife came out by cutting the tin fence.

Locals believe that someone may have plannedly locked the door of the house with a chain from outside and set it on fire due to previous enmity. However, it could not be confirmed yet who was involved in the incident.

Officer of Sakhipur Fire Service Station Ratan Roy said they went to the spot after receiving a call on the national emergency service 999 at 3:20am. By then the house had been gutted by fire. There was also a long delay in the information reaching them.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sakhipur Police Station Murad Hossain said no one has yet filed any written complaint with the police station over the incident. He has heard about the matter. Necessary legal action will be taken after investigation.