Police deployed at Baul artist Shafi Mondal’s house after killing of ‘pir’ in Kushtia

Police have been deployed at the house of popular Baul singer Shafi Mondal in Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia following the killing of self-proclaimed pir Abdul Rahman Shamim alias Kalandar Baba over allegations of desecrating the Holy Quran.

Daulatpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Arifur Rahman confirmed the matter, saying the deployment was made as a security measure.

"There is no specific information of any attack threat against his house," the OC said.

Baul artist Shafi Mondal said he has been staying in Dhaka for the past month and is unaware of developments in his village home. He suggested his daughter could provide more details.

Shafi Mondal's daughter Lina Mondal said her father is a spiritual singer and often visits different akhras for music-related activities. She said he had visited the Darbar Sharif in question, where photos and videos featuring him were later circulated online.

She alleged that the viral footage was used to "create mob violence," which led to the killing of Shamim.

She further said her father follows Lalon philosophy and is a practitioner of Lalon Sain's teachings, adding that differences in belief systems may exist but they respect religious values and Islamic practices.

Earlier on Saturday, Shamim alias Kalandar Baba was beaten and hacked to death by a mob over allegations of Quran desecration. The Darbar Sharif was also attacked, vandalised and set on fire during the incident. Three of his followers were injured.

The victim, locally known as Kalandar Baba, was the head of the Darbar Sharif.

His body was handed over after post-mortem at Kushtia 250-bed General Hospital and later buried at South-West Filippur graveyard following a janaza on Sunday afternoon.

No case has been filed so far, police said. The deceased's elder brother Fazlur Rahman said the family will decide on legal action after discussions.