Family Land Vendetta Leads to Arson in Chattogram

A bitter domestic dispute over ancestral property reached a devastating climax in the Anwara Upazila of Chattogram, where a young man allegedly incinerated four family homes in a deliberate act of arson. On Saturday, 3 January, the tranquil Bhararchar area of Barumchhara Union was upended when 27-year-old Mohammed Mohiuddin reportedly doused multiple dwellings in kerosene and set them ablaze. The fire, which broke out around 1:00 pm at the Abdul Hakim Chowkidar estate, rapidly consumed the cluster of houses, leaving several families destitute and sparking a police intervention.

Local accounts suggest the incident was the culmination of years of friction regarding homestead boundaries and inheritance rights. Mohammed Joynal Abedin, a cousin of the accused, recounted how Mohiuddin had specifically procured kerosene from a local merchant shortly before the attack. The suspect first ignited his own residence before systematically spreading the fire to his uncle’s house. Given the density of the settlement, the flames leaped to two neighbouring properties within minutes. The affected homeowners—Shamsur Islam, Mohammed Nurul Islam, Mohammed Abdul Alim, and Mohammed Rahim—watched helplessly as their furniture, savings, and livelihoods were reduced to ash.

Emergency responders from the Anwara Fire Station were dispatched to the scene, where they fought to prevent the inferno from spreading to the wider village. Sub-Officer Mohammed Abdullah noted that while his team successfully extinguished the fire, the predominantly mud-and-thatch structures offered little resistance to the intense heat. Although the victims claim a total loss of nearly 20 lakh Taka, the fire service’s preliminary structural assessment sits at a more conservative 4 lakh Taka, though this figure often excludes personal effects and cash.

Law enforcement moved swiftly to apprehend the suspect following the outcry from the local community. Mohammed Junayet Chowdhury, the Officer-in-Charge of Anwara Police Station, confirmed that Mohiuddin is currently in custody. The police have launched a formal investigation into the criminal damage, with initial findings strongly pointing towards a premeditated act triggered by the land feud. For now, the four families remain displaced, relying on the charity of neighbours as they navigate the aftermath of a family dispute turned into a public catastrophe.