Police on Monday arrested a man from Lalmonirhat's Patgram upazila for beating Abu Yunus Md Shahidunnabi Jewel to death and torching his body after accusing him of disrespecting the holy Quran.
The suspect was identified as Aynal Hossen, 34. So far, 45 people have been arrested over the incident.
Lalmonirhat Detective Branch of police officer-in-charge Omar Faruk said Aynal was arrested as he is an accused in the case over the murder of Jewel. He was produced before the court on Tuesday afternoon and later sent to jail.
On October 29, Abu Yunus Md Shahidunnabi Jewel, 50, was beaten to death by an angry mob at the Burimari Union Parishad premises in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat.
The mob then took his body some 300 metres away to the Prothom Bashkol area on Lalmonirhat-Burimari highway, doused it in petrol and set it on fire.
Over a thousand people were present during the incident, including people from outside Lalmonirhat, according to Patgram Upazila Nirbahi Officer Kamrun Nahar.
On October 31, the deceased’s cousin Saiful Alam filed a case against 43 named accused and hundreds of unnamed others. Burimari Union Parishad Chairman Abu Syed Newaz Nishat filed another case naming 22 accused and hundreds of unidentified others, and Patgram police station Sub Inspector (SI) Md Shahjahan filed yet another case.
Two probe committees - one by the district administration and another by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) - were formed to investigate the incident.
During the ongoing investigation by the NHRC, the commission’s Director of Investigation Al Mahmud Faizul Kabir said they have not yet found any proof of the Quran being desecreated.
