9 burnt alive, one shot dead

At least 10 people were killed, nine of them burnt alive, as houses at Kalshi Bihari camp in the capital's Mirpur area were set on fire on Saturday morning amid armed clashes over cracker explosion during overnight celebrations on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat.

Seven of the victims were of a single family. They were identified as Baby (40), her twin sons Lalu (14), and Bhulu (14), her daughters Shahana (26), and Afsana (19), daughter-in-law Jayeda (16), and Shahana's two-year-old son Maruf.

Another person named Azad, who suffered bullet wounds allegedly during police firing to quell the clashes, succumbed to his injuries at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). The other two dead were Babul and Ashiq, sources said.

Police and locals said the trouble erupted after Fazr prayers following arguments over the exploding of firecrackers in front of a mosque inside the Bihari camp on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat.

During the clash, miscreants set fire to a number of houses. The arson attack left nine people burnt alive on the spot.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Sheikh Yusuf Harun confirmed the death of nine people and said, "Locals handed over the bodies to the police for autopsy."

The DC also announced burial grants of Tk 20,000 for each of the victims.

DC of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Mirpur division) Imtiaz Ahmed said a chase- and-counter-chase took place between two groups of people over the indiscriminate blasting of firecrackers.

"At one stage, they locked in a series of clashes, hurling brick chips at one another. In the meantime, a number of houses of Bihari people were set on fire by miscreants, allegedly with inmates locked inside," said the DC of DMP.

Seven people burnt to death inside the burning rooms. Two fire service units came in and doused the flame.

On information, police rushed in and fired pellets targeting the rioters. Residents of the camp claimed that at least 100 people were injured during the firing. Four of the injured were rushed to the DMCH where Azad died later, they said.

On the other hand, officer-in-charge of Pallabi Police Station Ziauzzaman told reporters that the clash occurred between two rival groups of the Bihari people-known as stranded Pakistanis for siding with Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. "And the arson attack might have also taken place following the rivalry," he added.

After recovery of the bodies, Bihari people kept them inside the Stranded Pakistanis General Repatriation Committee (SPGRC) KTC branch office and barred police from taking them in apprehension that the dead bodies could be concealed. Later, police retrieved the bodies at 3:40pm on assurance of fulfilling the two-point demands the Biharis, including ensuring their full security.

The police brought the dead to the DMCH for autopsy at about 4:30pm. The bodies would be handed over to the families of the victims after autopsy for burial, police at the DMCH said.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Inspector- General of Police Hassan Mahmood Khandker and Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Benazir Ahmed visited the DMCH.

The state minister said the government would take stern action against the culprits involved in the clash.

"All accused would be brought to justice--nobody will be spared," he said.