Young man accused of setting fire to father’s house after wife divorced him in Kashiani

PNN News Desk | Gopalganj

A young man has been accused of setting fire to the home of a woman’s father in Kashiani, Gopalganj, after she divorced him. The incident took place on Wednesday (September 9) night in Nizamkandi village of the upazila. The victim’s family has filed a written complaint with the police in connection with the incident.

According to the complaint, Yasmin Khanam, 24, daughter of Ahad Ali Molla of Nizamkandi village, married Laltu Molla, 28, son of Lavlu Molla of the same village, around eight years ago. The family alleged that Yasmin had been subjected to physical and mental abuse at various times since the marriage. At one point, unable to tolerate the abuse, Yasmin divorced her husband around one and a half months ago. She has been living at her father’s house since then.

The family alleged that since the divorce, Laltu had been threatening Yasmin and her relatives and intimidating them in various ways. As part of this, he was reportedly seen loitering around Yasmin’s father’s house at around 11:45pm on September 9. He allegedly then set fire to a pile of firewood kept in the courtyard.

When family members noticed the fire, they began shouting for help. Nearby residents rushed to the scene and extinguished the fire with water. Although no major damage was caused, the pile of firewood was burned.

The victim’s family also claimed that around 15 days earlier, Laltu had attempted to set fire to their residential house. However, there were people on the road at the time, preventing the incident from causing major damage.

Yasmin’s elder brother, expatriate worker Tarikul Islam, said his sister had been subjected to physical and mental abuse since her marriage. For these reasons, he said, Yasmin was forced to divorce her husband around one and a half months ago. Since then, Laltu had been threatening and intimidating their family. Following the latest incident in which a pile of firewood in their courtyard was set on fire, the family is now concerned about their safety.

However, Laltu Molla denied the allegation that he had set the fire. Contacted by phone, he said he knew nothing about the incident and was being blamed unnecessarily.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kashiani Police Station Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman said a written complaint had been received regarding the incident. The matter would be investigated and further legal action would be taken accordingly.