Staff Reporter :
A case was filed accusing 33 named and about 500 unknown people, including ruling party’s MP Abul Kalam Azad and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Abdul Hannan, in connection with the recent attack on Santals in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha district.
The Managing Director (MD) of Rangpur Sugar Mills Abdul Awal, Sugar Farm Manager Abdul Majid, Sapmara Union Parishad (UP) Chairman Shakil Ahmed Bulbul, Katabari UP Chairman Rezaul Karim Rafiq and Local AL leader Mohammad Hossain Fuku have also been made accused in the case.
After 20 days of the incident, ethnic community leader Chhomas Hembrom on Saturday filed the case on charge of attacks, illegal eviction, looting, arson and murder, said Gabindaganj PS OC Subrata Kumar Sarkar.
Hembrom registered the case with the help of a delegation comprising mainly members of ‘Nijera Kori’, ‘Ain O Salish Kendra’ and BLAST (Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust), the police official said.
With this the number of accused rose to 1575 till date in three cases in connection with the Gaibandha attacks. We have arrested 20 of them so far,” the OC said.
Sub-Inspector Kalyan Chakrabarty filed the case accusing them of attacking law enforcers and hindering the government’s official duty, said Subrata Kumar.
Previously Swapan Murmu filed a case on behalf of the Santals against unknown 600 people on November 16. But these Santals have also expressed their reservations about it. For the meantime, Swapan Murmu has gone missing and not traceable even after eight days, as reported by Isha Rani Murmu, mother of the victim.
“We don’t know if he has filed any case. He used to make bamboo products, but we can’t find him now,” she alleged. Swapan’s wife Jyotsna Mardi said that her husband left their house eight days ago, saying he was going to work. About the missing, we have not informed the police, nor filed any case.” Gobindganj OC Subrata Kumar Sarkar said that they had no information about Swapan Murmu’s missing. At least three Santal men were killed and 40 others injured in a clash between the Santals and law enforcers and the workers of Rangpur Sugar Mills in Gobindaganj upazila in the first week of November. The clash broke out when workers of Rangpur Sugar Mills along with police went to Bagda Farm area to recover land of the sugar mills reportedly occupied by the Santal community.
