Fresh attacks stoke tension [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Fresh attacks stoke tension

Local November 06, 2016

Tension continued brewing as two more houses of Hindus, including Nasirnagar upazila parishad vice-chairman, were set on fire and local people foiled another attack while police recovered an idol of goddess Lakshmi from a mosque at Nasirnagar in Brahmanbaria on Saturday.
Police in overnight drives arrested 33 people at places of Nasirnagar upazila on suspicion of involvement in vandalising and robbing houses, business establishments and temples of the religious minority on October 30.
In another incident of attack on minorities, a Hindu temple, Ekata Sangha Kali Mandir, was set on fire at Satpai in Netrakona early Saturday.
Sadar police officer-in-charge Abu Taher Dewan said that police detained one Sumon Islam in connection with the incident.
About 200 houses and business establishments and 22 temples of Hindus were vandalised and robbed by groups of Muslims at at Nasirnagar upazila town and Haripur union on October 30.
The attacks began after two rallies organised by Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat in Nasirnagar college intersection and Towhidi Janata of qoumi group backed by Hefajat-e-Islam at Ashutosh Pilot High School for punishment of Hindu young fisherman Rasraj Das for allegedly sharing a doctored photo showing an idol set on the Kaaba on his Facebook wall on October 28.
While the area continued reeling from the shock of series of attacks, unidentified miscreants set fire to the house of Nasirnagar upazila parishad vice-chairman Anjan Kumar Deb, a Hindu by religion, at about 7:00pm on Saturday.
‘Some unknown miscreants set fire to a storehouse of jute sticks at the house and local people doused the fire within two or three minutes,’ said Nasirnagar upazila nirbahi officer Choudhury Muazzam Ahmed.
Ruling Awami League backed vice-chairman Anjan Kumar Deb said that it was a part of the series of attacks that the Hindus of the locality were facing since October 30.
Nasirnagar police station officer-in-charge Md Abu Zafar said that people at Rishipara of the upazila town thwarted a move of fresh attacks on Hindu households Saturday morning.
He said some people tried to attack the Hindu dominated village at about 11:00am. Sensing their move, local people waged resistance and the attackers fled immediately on boats through the adjacent haor, he added.
Abu Zafar also said that police recovered an idol of goddess Lakshmi from a mosque at Bitui village of Nasirnagar.
Police conducted a drive at the mosque at the dawn and recovered the two-foot idol of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth as per Hindu belief, and took it to police station.
Zafar said that additional police forces were deployed at the village to avoid any untoward incident.
He also said that police on overnight drives arrested 33 more people in connection with the attacks.
In the drives from Friday night to early Saturday, police arrested the suspects examining video footage of the October 30 attacks, he said.
The arrested were produced before the Brhmanbaria chief judicial magistrate’s court seeking them to be remanded in police custody for interrogation and the court sent them to jail saying that remand prayer would be heard later, Abu Zafar said.
Earlier, miscreants set fire to a stack of straw at a Hindu house at Chatipara village Friday evening.
At least five Hindu houses were set on fire at Nasirnagar early Friday and another Friday evening, despite deployment of additional Border Guard Bangladesh, Rapid Action Battalion and police forces following the October 30 attacks.
Local people especially Hindu youths at Nasirnagar, are guarding their localities to resist any further attack. Local people of Kashipara, Goshpara, Gankul Para, Gour Mandir areas said that they had been guarding their areas dividing in groups to thwart attacks from 10:00pm to 5:00am every day.
A delegation of Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee led by its acting president Shahriar Kabir visited the affected area on Saturday.