In accordance with the custom, the dead fishes were buried at the graveyard attached to the shrine.

Thousands of shocked devotees thronged the shrine premises in the last two days to have a look at the dead fishes, each weighing 15 to 20 kg.

Fire brigade is pumping out water of the pond. Private arrangements have also been made to expedite the job. Police and private security men have been deployed on the shrine premises to avert any untoward incident.

A motwalli (caretaker) of the shrine said yesterday some quarters might have caused the incident just weeks ahead of the annual urs (sort of pilgrimage) of the great saint.

The deputy director of fishery department said somehow the pond water might have been polluted, causing the sudden death of the fishes.

He however did not rule out the possibility of poisoning the fishes to death.

A container with some liquid material found near the pond has been sent to a Mahakhali laboratory in Dhaka for chemical tests, he said.

Police also sent a dead fish and specimen of the pond water to Bangladesh Agricultural University and the Mahakhali laboratory for tests.

Azizul Haque Manik, commissioner of Sylhet City Corporation, lodged a general diary with Kotwali Police Station Friday night.

The gazar fishes were one of the major attractions of the shrine since Hazrat Shahjalal's period. As a mark of respect to the great saint, no-one used to catch these fishes, rather the dead ones were buried.

Meanwhile, Awami League presidium member Abdus Samad Azad MP visited the shrine yesterday afternoon and urged the authorities to probe the incident.

Mayor of Sylhet Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran and the deputy inspector general of police, Sylhet range, also visited the shrine.