By Mainul Islam Khan

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – A crush at a Ramadan charity distribution event in Bangladesh has killed 23 people on Friday.

Apart from one boy, all of the victims were women crushed at the early morning event held after the dawn prayer in a chewing tobacco factory in the northeastern town of Mymensingh, according to Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Mohammad Abdur Rashid.

“More than 500 poor people had been gathered there in the very early morning as he [the factory owner] announced Zakat distribution. But he did not inform the police beforehand,” Rashid said.

“We have detained the factory owner and event organizer Shamim Talukder and six others,” he said, adding that 14 bodies had been taken to the local hospital morgue but some others were taken by their relatives.

Many Muslims use Ramadan to fulfill their religious obligation of Zakat, which requires them to give a portion of their wealth to the destitute.