Some unidentified people have carried out an attack and set fire to the house belonging to a freedom fighter in Chauddagram upazila of Comilla, following acts of vandalism.
Furniture and belongings in four rooms of the one-storey building were burned in the incident, which took place in Dakshin Sreepur village under Goonabati union early on Wednesday.
The house belongs to Ali Hossain, a former chairman of Goonabati union parishad and a freedom fighter, but he does not live there.
His wife, Rasheda Akhter, is a former vice president of the Comilla district Mohila Awami League and a former female vice chairman of the local upazila parishad. Rasheda's younger brother Mojibur Rahman Monju is chairman of the Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party.
Locals said Ali Hossain has been living with his family in Comilla town for a long time.
A man named Jamshed Alam looks after his house in the village and lives there with his wife and three young children.
After 1:30am, a group of unidentified individuals began smashing the doors and windows of the house.
They eventually entered the residence and continued the vandalism inside before setting it on fire with flammable substances, presumed to be petrol, and fled the scene.
Hearing screams from Jamshed, his family, and nearby residents, villagers rushed to the spot and managed to douse the fire after nearly an hour of effort.
Rasheda Akhter said a group of attackers launched the assault and committed acts of arson by pouring petrol or similar substances.
"Everything inside the house was reduced to ashes," she said.
Chauddagram police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Hilal Uddin Ahmed said police were dispatched to the scene in the morning after receiving information about the attack and arson.
"The perpetrators have not been identified yet. We are investigating the matter," he added.
