A seven‑year‑old girl died and three others were critically injured after unidentified attackers locked and torched the home of a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader in Lakshmipur Sadar upazila. The incident comes amid escalating violence in Bangladesh following Osman Hadi’s killing.
The victim, Ayesha Akter, was the youngest daughter of Belal Hossain, a businessman and assistant organising secretary of the BNP in Bhabaniganj Union. The child was trapped inside the house when it was set ablaze in the early hours of Saturday, local media reported.
The Officer-in-Charge of Lakshmipur Sadar Model Thana, Md Wahid Parvez, confirmed that Hossain’s seven-year-old daughter, Ayesha Akter, died in the blaze. Her father and two sisters, 16-year-old Salma Akter and 14-year-old Samia Akter, were severely burned. Belal is receiving treatment at Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital, while his daughters have been transferred to Dhaka for advanced care.
“We are investigating who carried out this attack and the motive behind it,” Wahid told The Daily Star.
Arup Pal, the residential medical officer at Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital, said the father and two teenage girls were brought to the emergency department around 2 AM.
“Two teenage girls and their father were brought to the emergency department with burn injuries around 2:00am. Belal Hossain has been admitted here, but the two girls were referred to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka, as their condition is critical. About 50-60 per cent of their bodies have been burnt,” he said.
Hazera Begum, Belal’s mother, described the horrifying ordeal. According to her, miscreants locked the doors and set the house on fire after pouring petrol inside.
“I went to sleep after dinner. Around 1:00 am, I woke up and saw through the window that my son’s tin-shed house was on fire. I ran out screaming but found both doors of the house locked from the outside. I couldn’t enter. Eventually, my son managed to break the door and escape. His wife, Nazma, also managed to get out with their four-month-old infant, Abir Hossain, and six-year-old son, Habib,” Daily Star quoted Hazera Begum as saying.
She added that her granddaughters Salma and Samia were rescued with severe burns, but Ayesha could not be saved. Belal Hossain himself sustained serious injuries in the attack.
