No evidence of disrespecting Quran found: Probe body

Shahidunnabi Jewel was beaten to death and burned on October 29 following a rumour but no evidence of disrespecting the holy Quran has been found, says a probe report submitted by the district administration.

The probe body, formed by the local administration, submitted the report on Thursday.

"There's no evidence of disrespecting the holy Quran and the rumour over it took the life of Jewel," says the report.

Additional District Magistrate TMA Momin handed over the report to the deputy commissioner of the district.

Momin said, "We didn't get any evidence of disrespecting the Quran. It's only a rumour which was spread deliberately."

The probe report was made after taking written and verbal statements of 50 people with four recommendations, he said while talking to reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Additional SP Rabiul Islam, said, "We've collected 17-20 video clips of the incident which went viral on social networking site Facebook and gleaned information from those."

Additional Superintendent of Lalmonirhat Police Rabiul Islam, deputy director of Fire Service and Civil Defence Shahidul Islam, were present there.

The three-member probe body was formed on October 30 following the incident.

On October 29, Shahidunnabi Jewel, former librarian of Rangpur Cantonment Public School and College, was beaten to death by a mob in Patgram upazila after some people accused him of "disrespecting the Quran." They also burned his body.

Jewel's cousin, Saiful Islam, filed a case with Patgram Police Station on October 31. Two more cases were also lodged in this connection and a three-member probe body was formed to look into the incident.

So far, 25 people have been arrested in three cases filed over the lynching. Of them, 18 were sent to jail while nine were placed in remand.

Detectives arrested the prime accused, Abul Hossain, 45, from the capital's Kuril Biswa Road on November 7.