Police have yet to file a case or make any arrests more than 36 hours after a man was beaten to death in multiple assaults over allegations of blasphemy in Satkhira on Tuesday, while the man accused of inciting the lynching continues to post on Facebook.
Debhata Police Station Officer-in-Charge HM Shahin told Daily Waadaa that no case had been filed yet.
“We are trying to identify them using technology. They went into hiding after the incident,” he said.
Asked about a Facebook post published by Fazlul Haque Ameni, who reportedly incited the lynching, shortly before this report was written, the OC said Ameni might be posting from a hideout.
At 1:05pm on Thursday, Ameni published a post on Facebook featuring part of the audio clip attributed to Shamim and questioning whether he had been mentally ill.
“Those who are Muslims, put your hands on your hearts and tell me: Is he (Shamim) ill or mentally ill? Is a person with a mental disorder or impaired mental faculties able to focus only on Allah, the Prophet, the Quran, the Companions, and the Pirs and Mashayekh, without finding anything else in the world to talk about? Those who are calling him mentally ill are the ones who are truly mentally ill,” he wrote.
Wahiduzzaman Shamim, 38, was first beaten in Kulia Bazar in Debhata upazila on Tuesday after an audio clip allegedly containing derogatory remarks about Islam went viral on social media.
Police rescued Shamim after the first assault and took him to Debhata Upazila Health Complex for treatment. However, at around 8:40pm, a group of people entered the hospital, took him away and assaulted him again.
Shamim died on his way to Satkhira District Hospital as his condition deteriorated.
At 12:08am on Wednesday, Ameni posted on Facebook confirming Shamim’s death.
“Alhamdulillah, he has died,” he wrote.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ameni had called for “exemplary punishment” for Shamim during a Facebook Live broadcast that began at 3:31pm.
“He has no right to live after making derogatory remarks about Allah, the Prophet, the Companions and the Quran. I swear that I am determined to send him out of this world wherever he is found,” Ameni said, urging others to join him in his resolve.
Two hours later, he appeared in another Facebook Live video outside the chamber of a local doctor, where Shamim was receiving treatment.
“He is being treated here. Yesterday, he drank poison in an attempt to commit suicide. He is currently receiving treatment at the chamber of Dr Sabur in Kulia,” Ameni said.
“I am Fazlul Haque Ameni speaking. I urge all of you to gather here. The person who compared the Companions of the Prophet to goats, made remarks about Allah, the Prophet and the Quran, and used extremely vile language about Allah’s very existence—something no Muslim can ever accept—doesn’t deserve any treatment, nor is there any question of handing him over to the authorities,” he added.
The video showed Ameni and several others entering the doctor’s chamber and attempting to forcibly remove Shamim from the doctor’s care. Shamim was subsequently beaten again before police rescued him, according to police.
Local media reported that Shamim had argued with his wife late Monday night and made remarks about Islam and Allah during the dispute. He reportedly drank poison afterwards and was taken to a doctor the following morning.
Ameni’s mobile phone was switched off when Waadaa attempted to contact him.
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