Brahmanbaria attacks : OC withdrawn [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Brahmanbaria attacks : OC withdrawn

Local November 03, 2016

The officer-in-charge of Nasirnagar police station in Brahmanbaria was withdrawn on Wednesday while eminent citizens and a National Human Rights Commission team after visiting the upazila blamed failure of the police and local ad administration for the attacks on Hindus there on Sunday.
The eminent citizens observed that the attacks were well planned and aimed at grabbing the land of the religious minority people.
They criticised local administration and police for their failure to identify the perpetrator and demanded a neutral and independent judicial inquiry into the attacks saying that they had no confidence in the two probe committees formed by the local administration and police.
While they were shocked by the intensity of the violence at Nasirnagar upazila town and Haripur union, local lawmaker Muhammed Sayedul Hoque, also the fisheries and livestock minister, claimed, ‘Only one or two incidents of attack took place and intensity was not that much as depicted by others.’
‘Now the situation is under control,’ he added.
Brahmanbaria superintendent of police Mizanur Rahman confirmed that Nasirnagar news police station officer-in-charge Abdul Quader was withdrawn on Wednesday afternoon. He, however, declined to disclose the reason ‘as an investigation was going on.
About 200 houses and business establishments and 22 temples of Hindus were vandalised and robbed on Sunday by groups of local Muslims at the upazila town and Haripur union.
Local people and police said that the attackers from outlying unions came to the upazila town on Sunday to join two protest rallies demanding punishment for Hindu youth Rasraj Das, 27, for allegedly sharing a doctored photo setting an idol on the Kaaba on his Facebook wall on Friday.
The rallies were arranged by local Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat at Nasirnagar college intersection and Towhidi Janata of qoumi group at Ashutosh Pilot School.
A three-member fact finding team of the National Human Rights Commission, led by commission member Enamul Hoque Chowdhury, visited the affected temples and houses on Wednesday.
Enamul said that the attacks were certainly ‘planned and deliberate’ acts from the rallies. ‘It would be a lie if the organisers of the rallies now deny their involvement the atrocities.’
He said that if the attacks were not planned, the attackers would not have divided into groups and launched the simultaneous attacks on different minority localities.
‘One of the aims was to grab lands of Hindu people and to drive them away from country,’ he added.
A six-member delegation of Nagarik Committee comprising left leaning politician Pankaj Bhattacharya and Asit Baran Rai and rights activists Sultana Kamal, Khushi Kabir, Noor Mohammad Talukdar and Tarik Ali, also visited the areas.
Sultana Kamal said that there was no reason for failure to identify the criminals as all saw the organisers of the rallies.
‘We have no confidence in the probe teams formed [by the local police and administration] as their roles are questionable,’ she said.
She doubted if people would be able to see the reports of the probe bodies.
‘We demand that the government must form a judicial probe body and another facts finding committee comprising members of the civil society,’ she added.
A 10-member Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikkyo Parishad team led by its general secretary Rana Das Gupta visited the area. Rana told New Age that the targets of attacks were to grab lands of Hindus compelling them to leave the country.
At an an impromptu rally, he also demanded judicial inquiry into the attacks.
Rana also demanded withdrawal of that the local police officer-in-charge and the upazila nirbahi officer in 48 hours.
A Communist Party of Bangladesh team also visited the area and the visitng leaders at a protest rally at local Shaheed Minar demanded a judicial inquiry into the attacks.
Another team led by Indian High Commission first secretary (political) Rajesh Uike also visited several temples including Gauri temple, Duttabari temple and Kashipara on Wednesday.