The pir was hacked to death by entering the court

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In Kushtia’s Daulatpur, a pir was beaten and hacked to death by bringing forward an old video, accusing him of blasphemy. His court was extensively vandalized and set on fire.

The incident took place in Phillipnagar village of Phillipnagar union of the upazila at around 2:30 pm on Saturday. The deceased Shamim Reza alias Jahangir is the son of deceased Jecher Ali of that village.

A few local residents, who did not want to be named, said Shamim had made derogatory comments about the Holy Quran — a 30-second video from a few years ago that went viral on social media last Friday morning. This creates anger among different classes of people. In view of this, hundreds of people gathered in Abeder Ghat area, half a kilometer away from Shamim’s Durbar yesterday morning. Then after noon they attacked the court and hacked and beat Shamim to death in the presence of the police.

In an 18-minute video that went viral on social media, hundreds of people marched towards Shamim’s darbar on the paved road of the village, chanting slogans. A part of the people in the procession entered the two one-story brick buildings and a tinshed house of his court. They vandalized the houses including the roof of the building and set them on fire. According to eyewitnesses, five to seven people inside the palace were injured during the attack. Others ran away. The fire service personnel came and doused the fire.

Various political and social organizations including Ganasanhati Andolan, Jatiya Nagrik Party, AB Party, Udichi, anti-discrimination student movement and Sufi socio-centered research institute ‘Makam’ gave separate statements in this incident yesterday. In the statement, they demanded immediate arrest and prosecution of those involved in the murder of Pir Shamim Reza.

Talking to local people, it is known that Shamim received his primary education from Islampur Government Primary School there. Later passed SSC from Philipnagar High School in 1984, HSC from Kumarakhali Degree College and B.Com from Bheramara College. Later he completed M.Com from Jagannath University College in the capital. Shamim took a job in a private company in Keraniganj area after his education. Later, he left his job and became a murid of Golam-e-Baba Qalandar Jahangir Sureshwari of Keraniganj and started living there as a servant. Later, around 2018, he came to his ancestral home and built a court himself. Local people said that music was played every Thursday night in his court.

According to police, administration and several local residents, on March 16, 2021, Shamim Reza came to the discussion when a video of a follower’s infant son being buried by playing a musical instrument went viral on social media. He was later arrested on September 16 of the same year on charges of blasphemy. After three months of imprisonment he returned to his court.

Kushtia Superintendent of Police Mohammad Jasim Uddin told Prothom Alo that Shamim Reza was rescued by the police, but the police were less than the angry crowd. It was not possible to bring it under control. They beat him to death.

Family Planning Officer of Daulatpur Upazila Health Complex Touhidul Hasan said that Shamim Reza died due to excessive bleeding. Among the other two brought to the hospital with him, one is a woman, one is a man. They are safe.

Kushtia district police spokesperson Additional Superintendent of Police Faisal Mahmud said Shamim’s body has been kept in Kushtia General Hospital morgue. His brother is preparing a murder case in this incident.

Deputy Commissioner Touhid Bin-Hasan told Prothom Alo that the situation in the area is calm. However, law enforcement personnel are deployed there along with BGB patrols. The injured are being treated. Even if they go home, there will be police guard. Apart from this, a police guard has also been kept at the village house of Shafi Mandal, a resident of Hussainabad in Daulatpur. Shafi Mondal is in Dhaka.

BNP Member of Parliament of Kushtia-1 (Daulatpur) Constituency Reza Ahmed Bachchu Molla said, “I went to the spot after getting the news on my way back from Dhaka. If someone creates chaos in the society, the administration will see it. No one has the right to kill. The administration will judge it by conducting a fair investigation.

During the interim government, one after another mob incidents happened. According to the 2025 report of the human rights organization Law and Arbitration Center (ASK), 197 people died as a result of mob violence or “mob terror” that year. Last year the number was 128.

In such a situation, on July 31 last year, the then interim government’s legal adviser Professor Asif Nazrul told reporters that harassment false cases and mob terrorism are the most unfortunate incidents during the interim government.

The new BNP government’s Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmad said on February 18 after assuming office, “Mob culture is over.” Mob culture cannot be done in the name of demand.