A man, who had protested the sexual harassment of a madrasa student, was stabbed to death in Goranalua village of Bagerhat's Chitalmari upazila on Friday night.

The deceased was identified as Abdul Jabbar Sheikh, 26, son of Abdul Haque of Barabak village of the upazila.

Another person named Rajib Sheikh, 25, was also stabbed and suffered serious injuries at that time. He was sent to Khulna Medical College Hospital for treatment. Rajib is a close relative of deceased Abdul Jabbar.

Enraged by the murder, local people set fire to three houses and a battery-run easy bike belonging to the accused's family.

Bagerhat Superintendent of Police KM Ariful Haque said that the prime accused, Delwar Munsi alias Delo, 32, son of Dublu Munsi, had been harassing the madrasah girl for days.

Abdul Jabbar protested when a girl of a neighbouring house,  a madrasa student, was sexually harassed by Delwar recently and  Jabbar was stabbed around 9 pm on Friday, he added.

When Rajib Sheikh tried to save Jabbar, stalker Delwar also stabbed Rajib, leaving him injured, said witnesses.

A tense situation has been prevailing in the area over the incident, said the SP, adding that they are conducting an operation to arrest those involved in the murder.

Meanwhile, police raided the house of Delwar Munsi and detained his mother, Parveen Begum, 45.

Besides, police have been deployed in the area to avoid further trouble. The body was sent to Bagerhat Sadar Hospital morgue on Saturday morning for a post-mortem.

"The process is underway to file a case in this regard," SP Ariful Haque added.