UNB :
Police have detained 42 people in connection with arson attacks on the homes of Hindu community members at Boro Karimpur Majhipara village in Pirganj upazila of Rangpur district over a post on social media on Sunday night.
The attackers set fire to 20-25 houses and shops of Hindus at the village around 8pm on Sunday, said deputy commissioner of Rangpur Asif Hasan on Monday.
The attackers also looted cash, cattle and other valuables from the houses.
Rangpur assistant superintendent of police Md Kamruzzaman said tension gripped the area on Sunday evening following a reported comment by a local Hindu teenager on Facebook.
Police reached the village to guard the house of the boy as tension mounted over the issue. Around 8.30 pm the miscreants set fire to some Hindu houses adjacent to the teenager’s house, he said.
Later, police lobbed teargas shells and rubber bullets to bring the situation under control.
Pirganj Fire Service Station officer Ratan Chandra Sharma said four units of firefighters from Pirganj, Mithapukur and Rangpur city rushed to the spot around 9pm to bring the fire under control.
Police have been deployed in the village to fend off further trouble.
DC Asif Hasan said a process is underway to file a case in this regard.
UNB adds: Those involved in the Rangpur incident will be brought to book, said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Monday.
“So far, police have detained 44 people with the help of the local people and we’re trying to know whether it’s a motivated and planned one. Those involved in it will be brought to justice,” he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.
Miscreants carried out arson attacks on 20-25 houses in a number of villages in Pirganj upazila on Sunday, vandalized houses and looted valuables, he said.
“The Prime Minister has directed all concerned to provide necessary assistance to the victims and we’ll take steps to rebuild their houses,” he said.
Talking about the Cumilla incident, the minister said the main purpose of the Cumilla incident was to destabilize the country, and 3-4 people involved in it have already been identified.
