Fence of graveyard reserved for freedom fighters burned

The boundary fence of a graveyard reserved for freedom fighters in Pangsa, Rajbari, has been set on fire.

The incident took place early on Sunday at the Tarapur graveyard, said Abdul Gani, inspector (investigation) at Pangsa Model Police Station.

Shahidul Islam, the muezzin of Tarapur Jame Mosque and caretaker of the graveyard, said he noticed the fire while on his way to give the morning call to prayer.

“When I saw the fire, I announced it over the mosque loudspeaker. Locals and students from the Hifz madrasa rushed in and extinguished it,” he said.

“This was deliberately set. There is no electricity line here, nor is it beside a road where an accident could occur. It was a planned act of sabotage,” he added.

Shamsher Ali, a freedom fighter and retired teacher who serves as joint convenor of the Bahadurpur Union Muktijoddha Sangsad, blamed “anti-liberation forces”.

“This is the work of those who deny the Liberation War. Is this why we fought for independence?” he said, calling for a thorough investigation and exemplary punishment.

Nurul Alam, secretary of the Tarapur Eidgah and graveyard committee, said the committee would file a general diary with police.

Pangsa Upazila administrator (UNO) Rifatul Haque said the burnt boundary fence would be repaired promptly and that those responsible would be identified and brought under the law.

Inspector Gani said police had already inspected the scene.

“It appears the fence around the graveyard for freedom fighters was set on fire in a planned manner,” he said, adding that an investigation was under way and efforts to arrest those involved were continuing.