Chaotic scenes erupted in Parliament on Thursday as ruling and opposition lawmakers engaged in repeated heated exchanges over the fire at the house of opposition MP Nusrat Tabassum in Kushtia, disrupting the proceedings and forcing Deputy Speaker to intervene several times.
The disorder broke out when Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam accused Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed of denying the possibility of an arson attack and shielding those responsible for setting fire to the house.
Nahid said video footage circulating on social media clearly showed an object being thrown from outside, followed by the house suddenly catching fire.
He rejected the Home Minister's earlier claim that the house was abandoned, saying people, including the caretaker's family and relatives of Nusrat Tabassum, had been staying there.
He also claimed that Tabassum had received repeated threats over the phone in recent days and had filed a general diary (GD) with police two days before the incident.
Nahid said the incident could not be treated in isolation, pointing to what he described as celebrations by supporters of the ousted Awami League on social media following the fire. He also alleged that the Kushtia unit of the Awami League had itself accepted responsibility for the incident.
Questioning the government's response, the opposition chief whip said they had expected the Home Minister to announce how quickly those responsible would be identified, arrested and brought to justice.
Instead, he accused the minister of going into "complete denial mode" and dismissing the allegations.
Nahid also referred to several other incidents, including deaths in a bus fire, cocktail explosions at a university and attacks on political activists, saying these reflected a deteriorating law and order situation in the country.
In response, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said he had submitted a statement supported by information, photographs and video footage about the incident, which occurred at around 12:20am on Wednesday night.
He questioned Nahid's assertion that the house had been set on fire deliberately, saying the investigation had not yet been completed.
The minister said an inquiry committee comprising representatives of the fire service, civil administration, police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had been formed to investigate the incident.
He said the house was not occupied by the MP and described it as an abandoned property where two goats were kept. He added that the MP's parents lived in a three-storey building about 20 metres away.
Salahuddin said police, fire service personnel and BGB members had responded after receiving information about the incident through the neighbouring police station and the national emergency helpline 999.
He said investigators had collected photographs of the walls, rooms, floors, electrical wiring, lights and meters to determine the cause of the fire.
The home minister also said he had personally spoken to the Superintendent of Police and the BGB chief, asking them to ensure a proper investigation, including whether any petrol bomb or other explosive object had been thrown at the house.
He said a GD had been filed on Thursday under number 703 at the local station and invited the opposition MP to provide details if an earlier complaint had been lodged two days before the incident.
The exchanges grew increasingly heated as opposition lawmakers, particularly Hannan Masud, repeatedly interrupted the minister's speech.
Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal, who was in the chair, repeatedly called on the lawmakers to maintain order, reminding them that parliamentary rules and practices required members to listen to one another and allow speakers to finish before responding.
"You cannot interrupt him like this," the Speaker told Hannan Masud, asking him to sit down and wait for an opportunity to speak.
The Home Minister, meanwhile, criticised what he described as the failure of some new lawmakers to follow parliamentary conventions, saying he had listened attentively when opposition members spoke.
He said the government would not blame any political group before the investigation was completed, adding that any involvement in sabotage, including by elements linked to fascist forces, would be established through the inquiry.
"We do not want to blame anyone indiscriminately. If we believe in the rule of law, we must speak after the investigation," he said.
The Deputy Speaker later said the investigation report would be placed before Parliament if the House decided to seek it, adding that a case would be filed and legal proceedings would follow based on the findings.
In a further intervention, Kayser Kamal said he had received a phone call about the incident around 1:20am on Wednesday and had tried to contact the Home Minister, Law Minister and State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, but could not reach them at the time.
He said an attack on the house of any member of Parliament affected all lawmakers and urged the House to wait for the investigation before demanding action against those responsible.