A 65-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death by his nephews over a longstanding land dispute in Sherpur Sadar upazila on Sunday, triggering attacks and arson at the accused's houses by angry locals.
The deceased was identified as Md Jinnat Ali, son of the late Ton Mahmud. The incident took place at Kusumhati Kajirchar village in the upazila on Sunday afternoon.
According to police and locals, Jinnat was attacked by his nephews Jasim, Mazhar and Nazrul, along with four to five others, over a previous dispute concerning land.
They beat him with their fists and blows and struck him with locally made weapons, leaving him critically injured.
He was later taken to Sherpur District Sadar Hospital in critical condition, where the duty doctor declared him dead around 6pm.
Following the incident, tension spread across the area. At around 9pm, agitated locals attacked the houses of the accused and set fire to them.
As of 10pm, firefighters were working to bring the blaze under control, said Md Jamil Hossain, station officer of Sherpur Fire Service and Civil Defence.
Officer-in-Charge of Sherpur Sadar Police Station Khokon Chandra Ghosh said police were deployed at the scene and tension prevailed in the area.
He said arrangements were being made to send the deceased's body to the hospital morgue for an autopsy.