ONE MONTH AFTER ATTACK ON B’BARIA HINDUS: Uneasy calm prevails at Nasirnagar [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

ONE MONTH AFTER ATTACK ON B’BARIA HINDUS: Uneasy calm prevails at Nasirnagar

Local November 30, 2016

An uneasy calm still prevails at Nasirnagar and Hindus are still in fear of further attacks despite deployment of additional police, Border Guard Bangladesh and Rapid Action Battalion even after one month of attacks on the religious minority group on October 30.
Police have so far arrested 101 people in connection with the attacks on the houses, business establishments and temples of Hindus at Nasirnagar in Brahmanbaria.
The local administration has set up 28 closed-circuit television cameras and held solidarity meetings at different unions, declared bounty for information of arson attacks committed after the October 30 attacks but ordinary Hindus are still passing their days in anxiety, local Hindu people said.
The Hindus are still reeling from the shock and have been living in fear of further attacks as the main perpetrators of the attacks are yet to be booked, the said.
Most of the affected Hindus have mended their houses, establishments and temples damaged in the attacks.
They started to take part in their day to day activities like farming and fishing or operating their shops at the local markets and villages but the shops, markets and roads are still deserted after sun set, although over 300 members of border guard, battalion and police are still patrolling the locality, local people said.
‘Many still fear attack as main perpetrators are yet to be arrested,’ Nasirnagar Puja Udjapan Parishad president Kajal Jyoti Dutta said, adding, ‘the poor who lost their houses and earning sources are living in hardship.’
Nasirnagar police officer-in-charge Abu Jafar, however, said that normalcy had returned to the upazila.
About 200 houses and business establishments and 22 temples of the Hindus were vandalised and robbed at Nasirnagar upazila town and Haripur union on October 30. Apperantly in continuation of the attacks, miscreants set fire to nine houses of Hindus on November 4, 5, 13 and 16.
Four cases were filed with Nasirnagar police station for the attacks – two by two victims against 1,000-1,200 and the rest two by police against 100-150 unnamed people. Abu Jafar said that they had arrested 101 people in the cases.
National Human Rights Commission chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque at a press conference in Dhaka on November 3 said that their fact finding committee after visiting the spots found that a quarter of conspirators instigated the attacks.
He alleged that Nasirnagar upazila Awami League president Rafi Uddin and general secretary ATM Maniruzzaman Sarkar instigated the attacks from two rallies.
The October 30 attacks came following two rallies organised by Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and Towhidi Janata of qoumi group backed by Hefajat-e-Islam demanding punishment of Hindu young fisherman from Harineber village Rasraj Das for allegedly sharing a doctored photo showing an idol set on the Kaaba on his Facebook wall on October 28.
Brahmanbaria district AL on November 4 suspended upazila AL assistant publicity secretary M Hashem, Haripur union AL president Faruk Miah and Chapartala union AL president Suraj Ali on allegation of their involvement in the attacks.
Asked why none of them were arrested, Abu Jafar said, ‘We are trying to arrest them but as far I know they have left the area. We are trying to trace them through tracking their cell phone.’
Abu Jafar said that they had set up 28 CCTV cameras at different important positions at the upazila town and had been holding solidarity meetings at places that had helped improving the situation.
Police on November 14 had declared Tk 1 lakh reward for assistance in capturing people involved in the arson attacks.
Two police probe bodies found negligence of upazila nirbahi officer and police officer-in-charge, who were withdrawn later, regarding the attacks. Police headquarters’ probe committee also found that a third party instigated the attacks taking advantages of ruling Awami League infightings.
Another probe committee formed by Brahmanbaria district administration, however, found no negligence of the two officers and said that ‘a group of people had instigated the attack in order to destroy the communal harmony of the area.’ The government withdrew upazila nirbahi officer Choudhury Muazzam Ahmedon November 6 and police officer-in-charge Abdul Kader on November 2 amidst protests for their failure to contain the attack on Hindus.