A tense situation is prevailing in Rajbari’s Goalanda upazila following violent attacks on the shrine of Nurul Haque, popularly known as Nural Pagla.
Additional police have been deployed, and the shrine premises remain in ruins, with scattered debris and occasional smoke still rising from the site. Curious onlookers have been crowding around to witness the aftermath.
The violence broke out on Friday afternoon after Jumma prayers, continuing intermittently from 3 pm to 6 pm. Protesters, alleging that Nural Pagla was buried in an “un-Islamic manner,” stormed the shrine, exhumed his body, and burned it in public.
The attack, carried out by participants from a previously announced protest of the Upazila Iman-Aqidah Protection Committee, left at least 50 people injured, including 10–12 police officers.
Vehicles belonging to police and the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) were also vandalized. One person later died from injuries sustained in the clashes.
A case has since been filed at Goalanda Ghat Police Station in connection with the violence against police and the vandalism of vehicles. Sub-Inspector Selim Molla lodged the case late Friday night, naming 3,000 to 3,500 unidentified suspects.
However, as of Saturday morning, no arrests had been made, Officer-in-Charge (OC) Rakibul Islam confirmed. He also stated that Nural Pagla’s family has not filed any complaint regarding the incident.
A visit to the site on Saturday morning found heavy police presence in front of the shrine in Juron Molla Para, Ward 5 of Goalanda municipality.
The shrine complex, consisting of a three-story and a two-story building, now lies in ruins—furniture looted or destroyed, rooms ransacked and burned. Smoke was still rising from the debris, while some locals scavenged items such as rice and lentils.
Nural Pagla lived with his family in the three-story building. About 100 yards away stood his hermitage, where he spent time with disciples in a tin-shed structure atop a raised platform.
Following his death on August 23, devotees buried him at the site in an elevated grave, which sparked anger among local clerics and the Touhidi Janata.
The Iman-Aqidah Protection Committee held several meetings with district and upazila officials, including the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police, demanding the grave be leveled.
After their demands were not met, the committee held press conferences and warned of agitation if the burial site was not altered by Thursday. They later announced a protest rally at Goalanda Ansar Club ground after Friday prayers, followed by a “March for Goalanda.”
Eyewitnesses said that around 3 pm, committee leaders, including convener Maulana Jalal Uddin Pramanik and BNP leader Ayub Ali Khan, addressed the rally. Shortly afterward, an enraged crowd marched to Nural Pagla’s shrine and attacked.
His followers attempted to resist, resulting in stone-pelting and clashes that left dozens injured. Some attackers scaled the walls, set fire to buildings, and looted property.
By around 5 pm, the mob exhumed Nural Pagla’s body and burned it on the Dhaka-Khulna highway near Goalanda Padma intersection.
Among the casualties was Rasel Molla, a devotee of Nural Pagla, who died at Faridpur Medical College Hospital from his injuries. He was a resident of Tena Pocha village in Debgram union, Goalanda.
