A group of people allegedly attacked and attempted to set fire to the house of former Bangladesh cricket captain and ex-Awami League MP Shakib Al Hasan in Magura on Wednesday, hours after he appeared at deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s virtual press conference.
According to Bangladeshi media reports, the incident took place at around 9 pm, when a group of people arrived on motorcycles and hurled a petrol bomb-like object at the upper section of the iron gate on the southern side of the house.
Quoting local residents, police said the object ignited a fire, but neighbours quickly doused the flames, preventing major damage to the property.
Magura Sadar Police Station officer-in-charge Abdulla Al Mamun said police were monitoring the situation and had launched an investigation.
“It cannot be confirmed at this stage whether it was a petrol bomb or something else. We will know the actual facts after an investigation,” the officer said.
Police said no one was inside the house when the incident occurred and personnel have since been deployed outside the property to prevent any untoward incident.
The attack came hours after Shakib, who represented the Magura-1 constituency as an Awami League lawmaker before the party lost power in 2024, appeared during Sheikh Hasina’s virtual address, in which the former Bangladesh prime minister defended her government’s handling of the 2024 protests and levelled fresh allegations against the country’s current leadership.