Uproar in parliament over fire at Nusrat's house: no sign of petrol bombs, home minister says; opposition pushes back

Remarks by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on the fire at the home of reserved women's seat MP Nusrat Tabassum sparked uproar and tension in the Jatiya Sangsad. Opposition chief whip Nahid Islam claimed the house was set on fire by hurling four petrol bombs. The home minister, however, said the preliminary investigation found no sign that petrol bombs were used, and that the fire could also have started from an electrical short circuit.

At the start of Thursday afternoon's sitting, Nahid Islam raised the matter on a point of order, saying four petrol bombs had been hurled at the house to set it ablaze. In reply, the home minister said the preliminary investigation suggests no petrol bomb was used there.

After the Maghrib prayer break and the end of question hour, Nahid Islam rose again on a point of order. He said the home minister had spoken of much video footage and information, but the footage available on social media and elsewhere clearly shows the whole house burst into flames in a moment because something was thrown from outside.

Nahid Islam said the house was not abandoned and people lived there; people were in the house the previous night as well. The caretaker's family and relatives of Nusrat Tabassum stayed there, and, in his words, people could have died there that night.

He further claimed that Nusrat Tabassum had been receiving various threats by phone for the past few days and had filed a general diary (GD) over the matter, so the incidents are not isolated.

The opposition chief whip said the 'fallen fascist forces' were seen celebrating the incident on social media and the Kushtia district Awami League had itself claimed responsibility for it. But the home minister had come to parliament and exonerated them, he alleged. They had hoped, he said, that the home minister would announce within how many hours the culprits would be identified, arrested and tried; instead, he had denied the whole matter.

The home minister then spoke again. He said he had given an information-rich statement and that a regrettable incident had taken place the previous night. The opposition chief whip was saying the fire was set deliberately — but has the investigation ended, he asked.

After those remarks, opposition members began shouting protests. Addressing them, the minister said: 'Please, I would be glad if you would listen a little while I speak. If you want to speak later, you can do so with the Speaker's permission.' When the minister again described the incident and repeated that the preliminary investigation found no sign of petrol bombs, opposition members protested noisily once more. At one point the home minister said he could stop speaking if they wished.

Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal urged the minister to continue. The home minister stopped and sat down for a while as members of the treasury and opposition benches kept up the commotion. At that time NCP MPs Nahid Islam, Abdul Hannan Masud and Mahmuda Alam Mitu stood and spoke without microphones. The deputy speaker asked Hannan Masud to sit down, saying speaking in parliament this way is not proper; the home minister was speaking, obstructing him was not right under any circumstances, and there would be an opportunity to speak later if needed.

The home minister then resumed. He said he had hoped the young colleagues would follow parliamentary culture. When, while describing the incident, he mentioned that there were two goats in the house, opposition members started shouting again. At that time Mahmuda Alam Mitu was heard saying without a microphone: 'We receive threats, you do not. That is why you do not understand.' Hannan Masud said: 'We receive threats regularly.'

The home minister later said law enforcement agencies have been instructed to investigate. If a petrol bomb is hurled somewhere, there will be signs of it, and that has been asked to be examined. If the fire started some other way, that will be known after the investigation.

He said: 'A regrettable incident has happened. If there is any sabotage here, any act of setting fire, action will be taken accordingly. If the fire started accidentally, that can be said after the investigation report. Now, if a fire breaks out in a house, giving a statement blaming the entire government just to blame the government is not proper.'

The home minister added that the investigation has only just begun and they do not want to blame anyone. If there was sabotage, or if collaborators of fascism were involved, that too will come out in the investigation; but they do not want to blame anyone wholesale as before.

After the home minister finished, Nahid Islam sought the floor but was not given it. He was heard saying without a microphone how the home minister could say it was a short circuit without completing the investigation.

The deputy speaker later said an incident like this at an MP's house is a matter of great concern. He said a colleague had called him about the matter at around 1:20 or 1:25 at night; he had then immediately called the home minister but could not reach him, could not reach the law minister either, and around 2am called the state minister for energy but could not reach him either.

The deputy speaker added that although late, the matter has come to the administration's attention, and the home minister promptly said an investigation is under way. Urging patience until the investigation ends, he said: 'Let us wait for the investigation. Then we will see whether the culprits are brought under the law.'