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

On Wednesday, over 500 people gathered at the Buchai Paglar Mazar (shrine of Buchai Pagla) in the Batulia area of Sanora union in Dhamrai, and vandalised it. The incident took place around 12:30pm, going on for around two hours before law enforcers and upazila administration rushed to the spot and took control of the situation, locals said.

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

Locals also emphasised that no anti-Shariah activities took place in the shrine.

Drugs were prohibited, and a mosque was operated using the money donated to the shrine, with a part of the money 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 of the shrine being demolished with an excavator. Over in Dhamrai's Islampur area, Barkat Mar Mazar (shrine of Barkat Ma) was vandalised on Thursday from the evening to later in the night. Hundred of people took part in the attack, said locals.

They say that it was mainly women who used to come to this shrine in groups. They would worship and leave. There was no lavish ceremonies or urus held in the shrine.

Residents of the area around the shrine are extremely shocked over the incident. They demanded that the attackers, whoever they are, be brought under justice.

Prof Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government, has announced strict legal action against any hate speech and attacks on religious and cultural places and Sufi shrines. The announcement was made in a press release sent by the Chief Adviser's Press Wing on Saturday.

Asked what step was taken over the vandalism of two shrines in Dhamrai, Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun, Dhamrai upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), said that as soon as the upazila administration received the information about the vandalism of the Buchai Paglar 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 Islampur area was vandalised at night. As soon as we got the news, we sent our men to stop it. We have reported both the issues to our higher authorities. We will follow the instructions that come," he added.

Monirul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Dhamrai police station, 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."

Asked if any action was being taken by Rab in the case of two shrines being vandalised 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 find out persons involved with the crime."