Police had arrested 18 people until Tuesday afternoon in cases filed over the desecration of Nurul Pagla's shrine, murder of one of his devotees, and the ensuing assault on law enforcers in Rajbari's Goalanda on 5 September.
That day, unidentified individuals, under the banner of 'Imam Aqeedah Rokkha Committee', launched an attack at the gravesite of Nurul Pagla, prompting devotees to retaliate in kind.
The clashes left one person dead and over a hundred injured.
Afterwards, the mob exhumed Nurul Pagla's body and set it ablaze on Dhaka-Khulna highway.
On Monday night, Amjad Mollah, the father of the slain Russel Molla, filed a case with Goalanda police station, accusing 3,500-4,000 unidentified suspects of murder and arson, among other crimes.
An earlier case filed by Sub-Inspector Selim Molla on Saturday with Goaland Ghat Police Station accused 3,000 to 3,500 unidentified people on charges of attacking the police.
Rajbari Additional Superintendent of Police Md Sharif Al Rajib confirmed that police had arrested 18 people in the two cases as of Tuesday afternoon.
Among those arrested is Abdul Latif (35), the imam of Chhamir Mollah Jame Mosque in Kachhim Uddin Para area of Goalanda upazila.
Latif, a resident of Boro Thakurkandi village in Ghior upazila of Manikganj, is believed to be the "direct instigator" behind the attack, ASP Rajib said.
Two other arrestees, Kazi Apu and Billu, have given confessional statements under Section 164 in the court.
Nurul Pagla, also known as Nural Haque, passed away on 23 August. Following his death, his followers buried him inside the Darbar and constructed a structure approximately 10–12 feet high over the grave.
This structure bore a resemblance to the Kaaba, a structure at the center of Islam's holiest site, prompting objections from local muslims.
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