Nearly two years after an attack on the shrine of Shah Sufi Syed Reza Sarwar Rajaji in Rupganj, Narayanganj, little remains of the compound where the Chishtiya Sufi pir was buried.
Bushes have overtaken the site in the Kalni area of Daudpur Union. A broken brick wall is among the remaining structures. Residents said the shrine's caretakers, imam and many devotees no longer regularly visit because they fear another attack.
During a visit to the site on August 18, Daily Waadaa found few people willing to discuss the incident. Some residents declined to identify themselves, while others said they did not want to discuss the event. Several began speaking but later stopped.
A court case filed nearly two years after the attack alleges that a group entered the shrine at about 9 pm on August 5, 2024, the day Sheikh Hasina's government fell, demolished structures, looted property and set the compound on fire.
The complaint further alleges that the attackers dug open Rajaji's grave, removed his body and burned it.
The case names 28 people as accused, including Mamunul Haque, joint secretary general of Hefazat-e-Islam; Islamic preacher Abdur Razzaq Bin Yusuf; and his two sons, Abdullah Bin Razzaq and Abdur Rahim Bin Razzaq. Another 50 to 60 unidentified people have also been named as accused.
The allegations have not been proved in court.
The case was filed by Advocate Syeda Zahida Sultana Rajaji, wife of the late pir, before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Narayanganj. The complaint, CR Case No 610/2026, brings allegations under several sections of the Penal Code.
The complainant has asked the court to take cognisance of the case, initiate legal proceedings against the accused, issue arrest warrants or direct the relevant police station to register the complaint as a First Information Report.
The court has assigned the Detective Branch of police to investigate and submit a report.
The Rupganj incident occurred during a period in which attacks on Sufi shrines and centres were reported across Bangladesh.
In January 2025, a Bangladesh-based platform called the Global Sufi Organisation said more than 80 shrines and Sufi centres had been attacked across the country during the six months following Sheikh Hasina's ouster.
The organisation, formed in October 2024, said on its Facebook page that it represented about 5,000 shrines and Sufi centres across the country. Waadaa requested a detailed list of the shrines and centres it represents but has yet to receive one.
Government figures at the time were lower. Police had recorded 44 attacks involving 40 shrines since August 4, including vandalism, assaults on devotees, looting and arson. Fifteen cases and 29 general diaries had been filed and 23 suspects arrested, according to figures reported by The Daily Star newspaper.
Attacks on shrines were also reported after the immediate period following the change of government.
By April 2026, more than 100 incidents involving attacks, vandalism or looting at shrines had been recorded since August 2024, according to data cited by Dhaka Tribune newspaper. The Human Rights Support Society, a local rights body, said at least three people had been killed and more than 200 injured, including women. About a dozen cases had been filed.
Waadaa could not independently verify those figures.
Research organisation Makam recorded 11 attacks in Narayanganj between August 2024 and the end of 2025, the highest number it recorded in any district in Dhaka division.
Rajaji's shrine was attacked on August 5, 2024.
Rajaji was a pir of the Chishtiya Sufi order, a poet and an enlisted lyricist with Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Television. He died on March 7, 2022, and was buried on his own land at Khashail in the Kalni area of Daudpur Union.
According to the complaint, the attack began at about 9 pm on August 5 and continued until around dawn the following morning.
The complaint says the attackers broke down the shrine's main gate and entered the compound. They then demolished surrounding walls and damaged parts of the main structure.
The tin roof and walls were damaged, furniture and other property were destroyed, and the compound was set on fire, according to the complaint.
The application also alleges that trees were cut down and a water tank, electricity lines, an electric meter, lights, ceremonial cloth coverings, banners and other items were destroyed.
The complainant estimates the damage from vandalism and arson at approximately 50 lakh taka and alleges that property worth another 5 lakh taka was looted.
A woman who lives in a neighbouring house and asked not to be identified told Waadaa that about 80 to 90 people arrived at the shrine that night.
Many appeared to be “Islamic clerics,” she said.
According to her account, the group vandalised the shrine and set it on fire. She said the group remained there for some time while residents stayed inside their homes.
Kamruzzaman, another local resident, said he heard the disturbance but did not witness the attack.
“I heard a commotion that night,” he said. “The next morning, I learned that the shrine had been vandalised and set on fire.”
Shahadat Hossain, a local resident interviewed by Waadaa on August 19, alleged that people from Jamia As-Salafiya came to the shrine and carried out the attack.
He said many of the shrine's caretakers, its imam and devotees were still staying away because they feared another attack.
Safat Hossain, a university student from the area, alleged that the attackers vandalised the shrine, dug open Rajaji's grave, removed his body and set it on fire on the instructions of Abdullah Bin Razzaq, son of Abdur Razzaq Bin Yusuf.
Waadaa could not independently verify those allegations.
According to the complaint, Rajaji had been dead for approximately 28 months when his grave was allegedly opened.
The complaint says several people at the site were surprised by the condition of the body and discussed claims that it had remained intact despite the time since his death.
It alleges that Abdullah Bin Razzaq was then contacted by telephone and that the call was placed on loudspeaker.
According to the complaint, Abdullah was told that Rajaji's body appeared to have remained intact. He allegedly said its “condition did not constitute evidence of spirituality” and instructed those present to “burn it.”
The complaint says flammable material was then used to set the body on fire.
Waadaa could not independently verify the alleged telephone conversation as despite repeated attempts the record of that alleged phone conversation cannot be obtained.
One member of the police’s investigation team who preferred anonymity, told Waadda that so far, it has not been established who placed the call, what number was dialled, who answered it, who was present during the conversation or what was said.
The complaint cites three purported eyewitnesses whose identities have not been disclosed because of security concerns.
They said they heard commotion, shouting and sounds of vandalism from the shrine on the night of August 5 and went outside their homes.
They said they saw a group around the shrine and that some members were chanting “Naraye Takbir, Allahu Akbar.”
According to their accounts, the group broke the shrine's gate and walls before the grave was opened and the body removed.
Waadaa could not independently verify their accounts. Mostak Ahmed, a disciple of Rajaji, said he arrived at the shrine at dawn on August 7, two days after the attack.
Mostak told Waadaa that he travelled there with two other people after hearing that the shrine had been vandalised and burned.
He said he found extensive damage and signs of fire.
Mostak said he smelled what seemed to him like “burning fresh meat” and later found what he believed were parts of Rajaji's remains.
According to Mostak, the remains were collected, taken to Dhaka and subsequently reburied at a cemetery.
Mostak did not witness the alleged exhumation or burning.
He said people at the site told him that the attackers had opened Rajaji's grave and removed the body. They also told him that some people present had been surprised by the condition of the body.
According to Mostak, witnesses told him that someone had been contacted by telephone before the body was burned.
Those accounts have not been independently corroborated.
Waadaa attempted to contact Abdullah Bin Razzaq but was unable to obtain his response.
His father, Abdur Razzaq Bin Yusuf, who is also an accused in the case and serves as director general of Jamia As-Salafiya in Rupganj, rejected the allegation that his son could have instructed anyone to burn a body.
“Burning a body is haram in Islam,” he told Waadaa. “Abdullah could not have given such an instruction. It is impossible.”
Abdur Razzaq said anyone could file a case and then ended the call, saying he was busy.
Maidul Islam, a sub-inspector with the Narayanganj Detective Branch and an investigating officer in the case, told Waadaa that the investigation was continuing.
“The investigation is ongoing,” he said. “Our senior police officials are also looking into the matter. We have already visited the scene. We hope to submit our report to the court promptly and within the stipulated time.”
According to Maidul, investigators will examine the allegations before further legal action is taken.
The investigation will have to determine who participated in the August 5 attack, whether Rajaji's grave was opened and his body burned, and whether the alleged telephone conversation took place as described in the complaint.
“Before concluding the investigation, we can’t say anything for sure.”
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