In a shocking incident in Sunamganj’s Dirai upazila, around 200 maunds of harvested paddy were burned to ashes after unidentified miscreants allegedly set fire to the crop. The incident occurred late Friday night (April 25) in the Laoyer Bond area of Baram Haor, near Ronvumi village, triggering panic among local farmers.

The affected farmer, Abdul Hannan, does not own any land himself. He had cultivated boro paddy on 4 acres of land under an annual lease agreement, which required him to give a portion of the yield to the landowner. After harvesting, the paddy was stacked on a fallow patch of land, awaiting threshing.

According to Hannan’s sons, Fazal Uddin and Chad Uddin, they had been guarding the harvested paddy at night for several days. On the night of the incident, 15–20 armed men reportedly tied them up at knifepoint and poured petrol over the paddy stacks before setting them ablaze. The next morning, agricultural workers found the two brothers and freed them. Locals helped extinguish the fire, but by then, all the paddy had been destroyed.

The victims claim the arson was a result of a longstanding dispute with a rival group, and they are preparing to file a case against the alleged attackers.

One of the accused, Ashiq Miah, denied involvement. He acknowledged past tensions over land intended for a primary school but alleged that the victims may have staged the fire themselves to frame his group. He called for a fair investigation and justice for the real perpetrators.

Following the incident, Additional Superintendent of Police (Dirai Circle) Md. Shariful Haque and Dirai Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Abdur Razzak visited the scene. The OC confirmed that police are actively investigating the matter.