He allegedly mobilised a mob through Facebook Live over blasphemy claims.
TBS Report
17 October, 2026, 11:50 pm
Last modified: 18 October, 2026, 01:12 am
The prime accused in the murder of Shamim, who was beaten to death by a mob over blasphemy allegations, has been arrested in Satkhira today (17 October).
Fazlul Haque Amini was arrested from neighbouring Kaliganj upazila around 11pm yesterday (17 October), confirmed Satkhira Superintendent of Police Abu Saleh Mohammad Ashraful Alam.
Amini, 45, is a resident of South Parulia village in Debhata upazila and works as a motorcycle-for-hire driver, said Debhata Police Station Officer-in-Charge HM Shahin.
The 40-year-old victim, Shamim, was the son of the late Shamsur Rahman of Baro Shanta village in Debhata. He was accused of insulting Islam before being beaten to death by a mob.
According to the officer-in-charge, Amini had been in hiding since the murder case was filed. Acting on confidential information, RAB and police jointly arrested him in Kaliganj. Further details would be provided later, he added.
Mob attacks victim twice
Shamim was attacked by a mob on Tuesday (13 October) before evening while receiving treatment at the chamber of a rural practitioner named Sabur in the Kuliya area.
He had fallen ill after ingesting poison and was undergoing treatment when the mob attacked him, according to the case account.
Police rescued Shamim after receiving information about the beating and admitted him to Debhata Upazila Health Complex.
Around 9pm, a group identifying itself as Touhidi Janata arrived at the hospital in a procession and allegedly beat him again. He was later taken to Satkhira Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Facebook Live allegedly rallied crowd
Local residents alleged that Amini, known locally as a religious preacher, went live on Facebook and called on people to gather over claims that Shamim had hurt religious sentiments.
Tensions had reportedly risen after an audio recording containing remarks attributed to Shamim and described as anti-Islamic circulated in the area.
After Shamim's death, Amini had claimed that the victim had repeatedly made objectionable comments about Allah, the Prophet and Islam. He also alleged that Shamim made anti-Islamic remarks when speaking to neighbours and others.
Amini further claimed that the mob had beaten Shamim to death.
On Thursday night (15 October), Shamim's elder brother, Jalil Sana, filed a murder case with Debhata Police Station, naming Amini as the prime accused and nine others as defendants. The case also names 200–250 unidentified people.
Police had earlier arrested two of the named accused, Asadul Islam and Moktar Hossain, both from the same upazila. They were subsequently sent to jail.