The chargesheets in the cases for attack on Hindus at Kornai village in Dinajpur Sadar upazila on January 5 last year is likely to be filed within this month, said investigation officials.
Attackers allegedly belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir damaged and set fire to houses and shops of Hindus at Kornai, a village 12km away from Dinajpur on January 5 last year, to prevent the minority people from casting their votes in the parliamentary elections.
Houses of at least 134 families and their 38 shops were damaged that day, said leaders of Dinajpur unit of Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha, Christian Oikya Parishad.
“A year after the incident, the police are still guarding us, but the villagers are passing their days in panic. The hurt in the minds of the affected people is yet to be healed,” said Kartik Chandra Roy, who filed a case with Dinajpur Police Station after the incident.
Monohar Chandra Roy filed another case with Dinajpur Police Station while Parul Begum filed a case under Speedy Tribunal Act.
Around 700 people were made accused in the three cases.
Anisuzzaman, IO of the case, said he filed the charge sheet accusing 75 people in the case filed by Parul Begum.
In May last year, home ministry transferred two other cases to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Dinajpur.
“We have nearly finalised investigation of Kornai cases and the charge sheets will be filed within this month,” Ahsanul Kabir, additional superintendent of police of Dinajpur CID, told The New Nation.
Of the 37 people arrested in connection with the attack at Kornai, only two people are now in jail and the others are on bail, said police.
BGB repaired the damaged houses and shops at Kornai but most of the shop owners are yet to restart the business, villagers said during this correspondent’s visit there on Tuesday.
A police camp set up there on January 8 last year is still the there to provide protection to the villagers.
At Okrabarihat in Chirirbandar upazila, Jamaat-Shibir men carried out similar attacks on Hindus on January 5 last year.
During the attack, at least 50 shops were burnt but the affected people are yet to get any compensation, said the locals.
At least three people, including an Ansar member, were killed in Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur in the violence centring the January 5 elections.
The Jamaat-Shibir men in Dinajpur district also vandalised or burnt 123 educational institutions including 99 primary schools where polling centres were set up.
“One hundred and 24 cases were filed accusing around 24,000 people in connection with the January 5 election related violence. Charge sheets in 80 cases involving 4,000 people have already been filed and those in rest of the cases will be filed soon,” said Md Ruhul Amin, superintendent of police of Dinajpur.
Of around 1,500 people arrested in the cases, 1,350 are now on bail and the others in Dinajpur jail.
