The shrines of Buchai Pagla and Barkat Ma, located in Dhamrai upazila within Dhaka district, were vandalised last week, but police and the administration are yet to take any action regarding these incidents.

On Wednesday, over 500 people gathered at the Buchai Pagla Mazar (shrine of Buchai Pagla) in the Batulia area in Dhamrai and vandalised it. The incident took place around 12:30pm and continued for about two hours before law enforcers and upazila administration brought the situation under control, locals said.

They claim that people from other areas came and attacked the shrine.

Locals also emphasised that no anti-Shariah activities took place at the shrine. Drugs were prohibited, and a mosque was operated using money donated to the shrine, with part of the funds also going to a madrasa and people in need.

A video has gone viral on social media showing groups of people smashing everything inside the shrine with sticks, and the main building being demolished with an excavator.

In Dhamrai's Islampur, the Barkat Ma Mazar was vandalised on Thursday from the evening until late into the night. Hundreds of people took part in it, said locals, adding it was mainly women who used to come to this shrine in groups to worship and leave. There were no lavish ceremonies or urus held there.

Residents around the shrine demanded that the attackers, whoever they are, be brought to justice.

Prof Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government, on Saturday, announced strict legal action against any hate speech and attacks on religious and cultural places and Sufi shrines.

When asked what steps had been taken regarding the vandalism of the two shrines in Dhamrai, Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun, Dhamrai upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), said that as soon as the upazila administration received information about the vandalism of the Buchai Pagla Mazar, an executive magistrate was sent there along with a team of army and Rab members to stop the destruction.

"People who vandalised the shrine have made some demands. We will hear their demands next Tuesday. I will sit with them on that day and take a decision. Besides, the shrine in the Islampur area was vandalised at night. As soon as we got the news, we sent our men to stop it. We have reported both issues to our higher authorities. We will follow the instructions that come," he added.

Dhamrai police OC Monirul Islam said, "I have just joined the police station. We were not able to take any action quickly in the case of shrine vandalism. We don't have vehicles. If anyone wants to file a case regarding the vandalism of the shrine, they can file a case."

When asked if any action was being taken by Rab in the case of the two shrines in Dhamrai, Jalis Mahmood Khan, company commander of Rab-4 (CPC-2) Camp, said, "Rab basically starts a shadow investigation after receiving a written complaint in any incident. No one complained about the vandalism of the shrine. However, we have collected video footage of both incidents and are analysing the footage to identify the individuals involved in the crime."