Bangladesh Feminist Archives

A seven-year-old girl, Ayesha Akter, died in a fire after the house of a local BNP leader was set ablaze in Char Mansa village of Bhavaniganj Union, Lakshmipur Sadar upazila, early Saturday morning, December 20, family members and police said. The family alleged that miscreants locked the house from the outside, poured petrol, and set it on fire while the occupants were asleep.

The incident occurred around 2:00 am at the house of Belal Hossain (50), joint organising secretary of Bhavaniganj Union BNP and a fertilizer and pesticide trader. At the time, Belal, his wife Nazma Begum, and their three daughters were inside the house. Belal, his wife, and two daughters managed to escape by breaking through the tin wall, but their youngest daughter, Ayesha, remained trapped inside and died in the fire. Two other daughters, Bithi Akter (17) and Smriti Akter (14), sustained serious burn injuries and were taken to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.

Nazma Begum said her youngest daughter was screaming for help as the fire spread. “After the fire started, the eldest and middle daughters were taken out through a gap in the tin roof. The youngest was crying, ‘Daddy, take me, take me,’ but we couldn’t reach her,” she said. Ayesha’s body was buried in the family graveyard later on Saturday.

Belal Hossain alleged the fire was an act of planned sabotage, saying both doors of the house were locked from the outside before petrol was used to start the blaze. “Because of the smoke and fire, I couldn’t go back inside,” he said while receiving treatment at Lakshmipur Sadar Hospital. Neighbours said the fire spread rapidly, preventing anyone from entering the house.

Lakshmipur District BNP Joint Convener Hasibur Rahman demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible, calling the incident deliberate. Lakshmipur Sadar Model Police Station OC Md. Wahid Parvez said police are investigating whether the incident was planned and are examining all aspects, including the cause of the fire and possible suspects. No arrests had been reported as of Saturday evening.