Pagla Shah

Pagla Shah a saint of Sonargoan. Nothing substantial is known about the saint, not even his name or identity. He is said to have become mast (unconscious of worldly affairs) from the intensity of devotions, and hence popularly called Pagla Shah. It is said that 'he was a great thief-catcher, that he nailed every thief he caught to a wall, and then beheaded them. Having strung several heads together, he threw them into an adjoining khal (canal), which has ever since been known as the munda mala, i.e. necklace of heads.

Pagla Shah is laid buried in a tomb at village Habibpur, to the northeast of Mograpara, on the southern side of the road. The tomb is housed in a small square building, now reconstructed on the structure of an old building. A tin-shed open courtyard is enclosed on the southern front of the tomb building. The tomb is so venerated that the parents, Hindu and Muslim, dedicate at the tomb the chonti, or queue of their child when dangerously ill. [Muazzam Hussain Khan]