Police recovered the burnt body of a youth from an automobile repair workshop that caught fire in Narsingdi’s Sadar upazila early Saturday.
The deceased, Chanchal Bhowmik, 25, originally from Lakshmipur village under Cumilla’s Barura upazila, had been working in Dagaria area as a mechanic for around six years.
Workshop owner Rubel Miah told The Daily Star that he last spoke to Chanchal around 10:00pm on Friday night.
“We had a brief discussion for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then Chanchal closed the shop, and I left the area. Like other days, he went to sleep inside the shop,” Rubel said.
“Later, around 4:00am on Saturday, I heard from my driver that the workshop had caught fire,” he added.
Contacted, Shimul Rafiq, deputy director of Fire Service and Civil Defense in Narsingdi, said on information around 3:20am, the fire service rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control within 15 minutes.
“As per our primary investigation, the fire originated from an electric short circuit. A youth, who was staying inside the shop, was burnt to death. We informed the police about this matter,” he said.
Police recovered the body around 4:00am, said Ishaq Miah, sub-inspector of Narsingdi Sadar Model Police Station.
After the incident, CCTV footage went viral on social media showing a man loitering in front of the workshop when the fire broke out. He was carrying a black bag, but his face was unclear.
“Scrutinising CCTV footage, we have come to know that a man stayed for around one hour and 20 minutes near the workshop that night,” said Ishaq Miah.
“He ate bread sitting near the workshop. We have seen that the man collected dry waste, set fire to it and tried to warm himself up,” he said.
“We suspect that the waste in front of the workshop were mixed with flammable substances like petrol or kerosene. When the fire spread quickly, the man left the scene,” he added.
“His movement was abnormal. It appears that he was a vagrant. We are trying to identify and arrest him,” said the police officer.
Asked about the fire service official’s claim that the fire originated from an electric short circuit, Ishaq said, “I don’t know how he (fire official) said this.”
Workshop owner Rubel Miah filed a case against unnamed persons this evening. The body was handed over to family members after autopsy, he informed.
“We want the police to find out the truth, whether it was a killing or an accident. We want justice,” said Rubel, while talking to The Daily Star on Sunday evening.
