Four individuals have been arrested in connection with the fire that destroyed 17 houses of Christian Tripura community at Sarai union in Bandarban's Lama upazila on Wednesday, the police said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed's name has emerged in connection with the incident.

According to the police, Stephen Tripura (50), Mashainya Tripura, 44, Joachim Tripura, 52, and Md Ibrahim, 65, have been arrested for setting fire to homes.

Md Ibrahim was responsible for overseeing land occupied in the name of Benazir Ahmed. All of the accused reside in Sarai union. They were arrested on Wednesday night.

On Tuesday night, a fire broke out in 17 houses in the East Betchara area. At the time, the residents were all at church celebrating Christmas, leaving the area deserted.

A case was filed on Wednesday night following the incident.

On Thursday morning, Bandarban’sDeputy Commissioner Shah MozahidUddin and Superintendent of Police ShahidullahKawsar visited East Betchara and inspected the burned houses. They assured the affected families of rehabilitation.

As part of the relief efforts, the administration has provided 10kg rice per family, along with 50kg from the Union Parishad, three blankets per family, lentils, oil, and other essentials.

Residents of East Betchara, Gangamani Tripura and Chandramani Tripura, told ProthomAlo that there were 19 families in the area. Of these, 17 families' homes were completely destroyed by the fire. No one was able to salvage any belongings.

Two houses that survived the fire are being used by men for shelter, while the rest of the families have taken refuge in a nearby village.