THE Friday attack on Hindu homes by a mob in Thakurpara in Rangpur Sadar comes as a renewed shock to the nation. It appears local vested interest groups used a Facebook post that hurt religion sentiment of the Muslim as a cause of arson attack. Many believe the attack basically aimed at evicting the Hindu families from their homes for land grabbing by some local influential persons. It is heinous crime that can’t go unpunished.
One more development caught the local by surprise. Following the attack two cases were filed involving 200 persons with Gangachara Police that led to arrest of 48 persons, most of them however Jamaat men giving it yet another political color.
One more development caught the local by surprise. Following the attack two cases were filed involving 200 persons with Gangachara Police that led to arrest of 48 persons, most of them however Jamaat men giving it yet another political color.
The incident saw killing of at least one person in police firing on the mobs who set fire to at least eight houses and damaged 15 more in the village. The question is why Hindus to be blamed blindly for any such Facebook post that hurt the Muslims. Even a Muslim can do it putting blame on a Hindu man to achieve dirty objective. It appears some people quickly exploited the emotion of the ordinary Muslims. They gathered the mob to destroy the Hindu homes. As we see this is a set pattern to attack Hindu villages using religions sentiment in which politically influential people have their hands. They use mob to make Hindus homeless and eventually take over their land.
Last year over 200 houses and business establishments of Hindus were vandalized at Nasirnagar Upazila in Brahmanbaria district and we are not aware of whether the perpetrators who enjoyed protection from a Minister were punished. Attack on Santal villages at Gaibandha also went unpunished and their land not returned. Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikkya Parishad Secretary Rana Dasgupta has reasonably raised question why such attacks are taking place on Hindu villages and why mobs are misled before independently verifying the allegations.
The other question is why police and local administration don’t take precautionary measures when such rumors spread on social media to keep peace and clear the case by hastily carrying out investigation. In fact police and local administration are often complicit with local political quarters instead of timely coming to protecting the victims. There is a lack of political will of the government to curb excess by party men.
Rana Dasgupta listed at least 40 sectarian attacks on Hindu villages since 2012 and perpetrators were not punished due to flawed probes and impunity that ruling party men enjoyed. Protest on the latest Rangpur incident is pouring in from all quarters but the government is not taking the right step to nab the real culprits. We must say justice must be meted out to the victims and attackers must get exemplary punishment.
