Shroud cloth and slaughtered chicken left at gates of three homes in Dhaka's Dhamrai, panic in Bara Chandrail

Shroud cloth, attar, soap and a bloodied slaughtered chicken were left at the main gates of three homes in the same area in Bara Chandrail, in Kulla Union of Dhamrai upazila in Dhaka. The incident took place late on Wednesday night, and when it became known on Thursday morning, panic spread across the whole area.

According to the affected families and local sources, residents of two of the homes found the items at their main gates when they woke up on Thursday morning. Earlier, late on Wednesday night, family members had seen a bag hanging from the grille of Mosleh Uddin's home. Panic spread among local residents once the matter became known.

The three homes targeted were those of Md Mosleh Uddin, who was affected by an arson attack last month, and his two neighbours, Md Wahid Bhuiya Ripon and Sentu Mia.

Mosleh Uddin said miscreants set fire to his dwelling late on 24 October. Before he could recover from that loss, this new threat arrived. He said the shroud cloth was sent to the very homes of those who stood beside him and helped him at that time, delivering a message of death, and that they are now living in extreme insecurity.

He also said he had recently received a threat from a number over buying land beside his home. The caller asked why he had bought that land. Threats have continued one after another since then, he said.

Neighbour Wahid Bhuiya Ripon said he went to Mosleh Uddin's home at night after seeing a bag hanging from its grille. Many people from the area gathered there once the matter became known. After Mosleh Uddin returned home, Ripon also went back to his own home. He saw nothing in front of his home at the time, but in the morning he found shroud cloth, attar, soap and a bloodied slaughtered chicken at his door.

Ripon said this is no ordinary incident. He believes a group, acting out of a past enmity, deliberately created this frightening situation to break their families mentally and threaten their lives.

The third victim, Sentu Mia, said they want to live in peace in the area. Such terrorist acts and threats, in broad daylight or in the darkness of night, cannot be accepted in any way. He said their whole family is now spending its days in fear inside the home, and demanded proper justice and strict security from the administration.

Local residents said that after the incident, panic prevails not only in those three families but among people across Chandrail village. They fear a major incident could happen at any time if police do not act quickly.

After the repeated threats and the shroud cloth left in front of their homes, the victims first called the national emergency service number 999. They later went to Dhamrai Police Station and informed police in writing.

Dhamrai Police Station's officer-in-charge, Md Nazmul Huda Khan, said police went to inspect the scene as soon as they received the news. The matter is being investigated with importance, and those involved will be identified and swift legal action taken, he said.