A tragic incident has transpired at the historic Khan Jahan Ali Shrine pond in the Bagerhat District, where a seven-year-old girl named Fatema was seized and dragged underwater by a resident crocodile. The incident occurred on Monday night, 1 June 2026, at approximately 20:30 hours, specifically at the designated women’s bathing ghat adjacent to the mausoleum grounds.
Background of the Victim and the Disappearance
According to local administrative sources and eyewitness testimonies, the young victim, Fatema, had been residing within the shrine precinct along with her mother. Community members noted that the child’s mother is a mentally disabled individual, and the family lived under vulnerable conditions within the historic religious site.
On the night of the incident, the child had entered the water at the bathing ghat. Eyewitnesses reported that a crocodile suddenly surfaced, clamped its jaws onto the young girl, and rapidly pulled her beneath the surface of the vast water body. Upon hearing the victim’s distressed screams, nearby residents and shrine attendants rushed to the edge of the ghat. Recognising the gravity of the assault, several individuals immediately boarded local boats and entered the pond, initiating a desperate search-and-rescue operation to locate and recover the child from the water.
Local Administration and Dignitaries Converge on Scene
As information regarding the crocodile attack spread rapidly across the region, senior governmental, administrative, and law enforcement officials arrived at the location to supervise the response operations. The high-profile delegation that visited the site of the incident included:
The Member of Parliament for the Bagerhat-2 constituency, Sheikh Monzurul Haq Rahad
The Deputy Commissioner of Bagerhat District, Golam Mohammad Baten
The Superintendent of Police, Hasan Mohammad Naser Rikabdar
The Additional Superintendent of Police, Mohammad Mohidul Islam
The officials met with the distressed community members, reviewed the emergency measures, and coordinated the multi-agency response to ensure that all available state apparatuses were deployed to locate the missing child.
Coordinated Search Operations Ongoing Without Success
A comprehensive and continuous search operation was immediately launched under the joint execution of the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, the Bangladesh Police, and local volunteer divers. The search teams deployed specialised equipment and watercraft to systematically scour the depths of the expansive historic pond.
Despite these exhaustive, combined efforts spanning several hours into the night, the rescue teams have been unable to trace the child or locate the animal involved in the attack. According to the latest operational updates provided by the emergency services on the ground, the seven-year-old girl remains completely missing, and search parameters are being continuously maintained across the water body.
The extensive pond, situated outside the final resting place of the 15th-century Sufi saint Khan Jahan Ali, has historically been home to freshwater crocodiles, which are traditionally regarded with reverence by visiting pilgrims. However, this sudden predatory encounter has heightened immense security concerns regarding public safety at the designated bathing stations, prompting calls from the local merchant association for the strict implementation of protective barriers or safety enclosures to prevent any future wildlife conflicts at the heritage site.