MP Nusrat files case over fire at ancestral home

Nusrat Tabassum Jyoti, a member of parliament for reserved women's seat-50, has filed a case accusing eight leaders of the banned Chhatra League, Jubo League and Swechchhasebak League, along with 25-30 unidentified individuals, of setting fire to her ancestral home in Kushtia’s Daulatpur.

Khaledur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Daulatpur Police Station, said on Friday that Nusrat had filed the case the previous night.

The accused are Kushtia Chhatra League President Mir Ahsanul Islam Abhi and General Secretary Pantha Shahriar Orpon; Daulatpur unit President Ashik Shikdar and Joint Convener Md Riday; Kushtia Jubo League President Mir Saiful Islam and General Secretary Harun-or-Rashid; and Daulatpur Swechchhasebak League President Md Mominur Rahman Mohon and General Secretary Md Shariful Islam.

Nusrat, also a leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP), alleged that the accused had been involved in sabotage and other criminal activities to create instability since the Awami League government fell on 5 August 2024.

She alleged that they had also been seeking opportunities to kill her and her family members. She further claimed that false information about her and the NCP had been circulated on Facebook.

She was in Dhaka attending a parliamentary session when the incident occurred. Her parents and other relatives were asleep after dinner when miscreants set the house on fire at around 12:15am.

The fire destroyed nearly one-third of the household belongings, furniture and essential equipment. Three goats kept on the property also died, causing an estimated loss of Tk40 lakh, Nusrat said in her complaint.

Khaledur said police had already collected evidence in the case but had yet to determine the cause of the fire.

Kushtia Additional Superintendent of Police (crime and operations) Faisal Mahmud said police were conducting drives to arrest the accused.

Meanwhile, a committee formed by the Home Ministry is investigating the incident. Its members visited the house in Baguan village of Daulatpur around 10:30am on Friday.

The Home Ministry formed the four-member committee on Thursday and asked it to submit a report within three days.

During the visit, committee members inspected the damaged house and spoke to its resident, Shah Alam, and Nusrat's father, Abdul Halim, to gather details about the incident.

The investigators said they had begun preliminary inquiries and were examining possible causes of the fire.

As part of the investigation, the Kushtia Palli Bidyut Samity was asked to verify whether an electrical short circuit could have caused the fire. Its officials inspected the site but found no evidence supporting the theory.

Tojammel Haque, assistant general manager of the Kushtia Palli Bidyut Samity's Pragpur office, confirmed that the power lines were intact during the incident.

"We disconnected the supply immediately after receiving a call at our complaint centre. Two linemen later inspected the site and recovered the wires and meter, which were found intact," he said.

Tojammel added that although the meter's outer casing was burnt, most likely in the fire, its internal circuit showed no signs of a short circuit.

He also said the main switch's cartridge fuses were intact, noting that they would normally blow in the event of a short circuit.