Canteens vandalised for being open during daytime in Ramadan

Three youths yesterday vandalised two canteens on the Sylhet district court premises because they were open during the daytime of Ramadan.

Seven people were injured in the incident, and one of them, Juned Ahmed, a betel leaf shop owner, was admitted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Lawyers caught two of the miscreants and handed them over to police. The detainees are Shah Md Abdur Rahim, 27, of Mollahpara village under Osmaninagar upazila in Sylhet, and Dulal Miah, 25, of Ratanpur village under Madhabpur in Habiganj.

Quoting witnesses, advocate Hossain Ahmed, general secretary of Sylhet District Bar Association, said the trio entered the Lawyers Association's canteen and asked the manager, "Who did permit you to keep the restaurant open during daytime of Ramadan?"

Following an altercation, they started vandalising the furniture and utensils and beating up people with iron rods before moving to the Collectorate Building canteen and doing the same, the lawyer said.

During the incident, lawyer Ahmed reached the spot with court police and detained two of them while the third one fled.

Gousul Alam, officer-in-charge of Sylhet Kotwali Police Station, said manager of the Lawyers Association canteen, Pavel Mia, filed a case against the detained two and an unnamed person.

Quoting the arrestees, the OC said they vandalised the canteens because they were open during the daytime of Ramadan.

Ahmed said the canteens were open to serve food to non-Muslims and the sick. This incident is alarming because it happened on the court premises, he added, requesting tightened security in the court area.