Unidentified individuals set fire to the zonal office of Grameen Bank located in Sylhet, early Sunday, damaging the zonal officer's vehicle and burning several important documents.

According to the office authorities, the incident took place around 3:45am, when unidentified individuals reportedly climbed over the boundary wall, entered the premises and set fire to several places inside the office.

Confirming the incident, Zonal Officer Abul Hossain said the security guard called him to inform about the fire. He rushed to the scene with several employees and extinguished the flames using water. Fire service personnel arrived later.

He said the fire partially damaged his vehicle and destroyed several important documents kept at the office.

The incident came two days after rumours spread on Facebook that the same office had been set on fire. The rumours were circulated using AI-generated images and videos.

Abul Hossain said the earlier reports were false, but unidentified miscreants had actually set fire to the office on Saturday night.

He added that police had collected footage from several CCTV cameras in the surrounding area. A general diary (GD) was also filed with the police over the incident.

Shahporan Police Station's Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) Mujibur Rahman said police visited the scene after receiving information about the incident.

No one was seen in the CCTV footage before the reported time of the incident. The footage showed people moving around only after 5am, the OC said.

Police are investigating how the fire started, he added.

An official on duty at Sylhet Fire Service said firefighters went to the scene after receiving information about the fire. However, the office staff had already extinguished it before their arrival.

The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage will be determined after an investigation, the official said.