Gazipur school ‘set on fire only to blame rivals’

GAZIPUR, Nov 16 (UNB): A school was allegedly set on fire in Gazipur Sadar upazila's Baniarchala only to pin the blame on the rivals.

The fire that broke out on Monday destroyed the school's furniture, books, and other necessary documents.

Police are investigating if it was intentional as the founders of Hazi Fazlul Haque Pre-Cadet School and Jalpaitala Model School of the same area had a previous enmity between them.

According to the fire service, the fire broke out at Jalpaitala Model School around 3:30am. The locals could put out the flames before the fire service personnel reached the spot.

Joydebpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Jabedul Islam said both sides filed two cases over a previous feud. "The headteacher of Jalpaitala School was recently arrested in a case."

Hazi Fazlul Haque Pre-Cadet School's founder Md Gias Uddin complained that the Jalpaitla Model School authority set the institution on fire only to lay the blame on them. "They also removed the CCTV camera and furniture from the school before the incident."

Meanwhile, the relatives of Jalpaitala Model School founder Akbar Ali said they had a long-running feud with their neighbor Gias and his brother Mujibur Rahman over a land.

Based on the dispute, Gias Uddin's men set fire the school on fire at around 3am to destroy it, they claimed.