No sign of sabotage in fire at MP's Kushtia house, home minister tells parliament
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has told the Jatiya Sangsad that the fire at the house of a National Citizen Party (NCP) reserved-seat woman MP in Kushtia is being viewed with utmost seriousness. A breach of an MP's security is a matter of concern for everyone in the country, he said, adding that a joint investigation committee has already started work on the incident.
The home minister made the remarks on Thursday (November 12), the fourth day of the fourth session of the Jatiya Sangsad, while replying to a point of order. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad was presiding at the time.
Giving parliament a detailed account of the incident, the home minister said the fire broke out last night, at 12:20am at the start of the 12th. The fire occurred at the village home of reserved-seat woman MP Nusrat Tabassum in Baguan village of Mathurapur Union in Daulatpur upazila, Kushtia, 7.4 kilometres from the border.
He said her parents were staying in a three-storey building 20 metres from the tin-shed semi-pucca house that caught fire. Essentially no one lived in that tin-shed house; it contained only two goats and some furniture.
Describing the administration's steps after the incident, the home minister said that as soon as the news was received, a fire service vehicle was brought from the neighbouring police station area and the fire was brought under control. In addition, the additional superintendent of police, the officer-in-charge of the police station, the superintendent of police and a BGB team visited the scene.
He also said a joint investigation involving the BGB, the fire service, the police and the civil administration has been ordered to find the real cause of the fire.
On the preliminary investigation report, Salahuddin Ahmed said that after discussions with local people and law enforcement agencies and assessing the evidence, initially no sound like a petrol bomb explosion and no petrol bomb marks on the walls were found. No witness gave any information about the use of a petrol bomb either.
Reviewing photographs of the scene, the walls and other evidence, it is being assumed that the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit, since the house is old and its wiring was weak. However, he said, this can only be confirmed subject to a full investigation.
The home minister further said the abandoned or little-used house contained the caretaker's shoemaking tools and cloth, which were damaged in the fire, and two goats died.
A general diary has already been filed at the police station over the incident and the police are investigating accordingly. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed assured parliament that if anyone carried out any act of sabotage behind this, strict legal action will be taken if it is proved in further investigation.
