Local residents reportedly vandalised the residence of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker from Jashore-4 constituency Md Golam Rasul on Tuesday during protests following a dispute involving a local madrasah.

The protesters also blocked the Jashore-Narail highway for several hours, causing traffic disruption.

According to locals, the dispute centres on Al Madrasatus Shariyah and its adjoining mosque near the MP's house in the Nilganj area of Jashore town.

They alleged that the latest incident began on Monday when the MP's daughter, Mehzabin Ananya, assaulted a madrasah student.

Although the two sides reportedly reached a settlement later that night, tensions flared again after allegations that the MP instructed authorities to keep the madrasah closed.

Angered by the development, hundreds of residents gathered outside the MP's house around 10:30am on Tuesday.

Witnesses said a relative of Golam Rasul arrived at the scene around 11:30am to mediate, but a section of the protesters allegedly swooped on him and beat him. They also allegedly vandalised the MP’s residence.

As tensions escalated, demonstrators blocked the Jashore-Narail highway and chanted slogans, demanding justice over the incident involving the MP and his daughter.

Police from Kotwali Police Station, led by Inspector (Operations) Masum Khan, rushed to the scene and tried to bring the situation under control.

The police officer said discussions were being held with both sides to restore normalcy. He said law enforcement personnel remained at the scene and were closely monitoring the situation.

The protesters were still gathered outside the MP's residence and traffic on the highway remained partially disrupted till filing of this report around 7:30pm.

In a video message in the afternoon, Golam Rasul said the road in front of the madrasah, which he claimed is on his private land, often becomes congested when students' guardians gather there, causing inconvenience to the public.

He said he visited the madrasah on Tuesday morning to ask the teachers to request guardians to remain inside the madrasah premises.

The MP alleged that while he was speaking with teachers, some guardians assaulted him. He claimed that when his daughter came forward, she was also beaten.

He further said his daughter has a psychiatric condition and alleged that his wife was also assaulted. "I somehow managed to escape with my wife and daughter and took shelter inside our house," he said.

Golam Rasul also alleged that protesters later vandalised his house, used abusive language and scattered gunpowder in his garage, raising fears of a possible firing incident.

He, however, said he did not want the situation to escalate. "I want to live in harmony with everyone. I do not want any chaos," he said, apologising for any unintentional mistakes or behaviour.

The lawmaker also urged people to remain calm and assured a proper resolution.

MP's wife Sharmin Dina said their daughter Ananya has long been suffering from mental health problems.

She claimed that although the madrasah has officially been closed, some children continued to gather there and create disturbances. When the family objected, she alleged, false accusations were made against them, eventually leading to an attack on their house.

"Our house was attacked, and now false allegations are being made against us," she said.