SIX cases were filed with Pallabi Police Station on Sunday in connection with Saturday’s violence at Kurmitola Bihari camp in the city’s Mirpur area that left 10 people dead. Yasin, operation officer and a sub-inspector (SI) of Pallabi Police Station, said that six cases, including one for killing and another one for police assault, were filed against over 1,200 unnamed people in connection with the violence at Kalshi and its surrounding areas, as per a report appeared in a local daily.Sub-Inspector of the police station Mominul filed the murder case while SI Jahid filed the police assault case. Besides, a local man, Mobarak, filed another case against some unidentified people for vandalising a local mosque during the violence on behalf of the mosque committee. Yet another local man, Faruk, filed a case against over 800 people for stabbing him at Baunia Bandh and looting his shop during yesterday’s incident. Parvez, a resident of Mirpur-11, filed the fifth case against 200 to 300 people as some people attacked him during the violence, while Apu, a resident of Paris Road of Mirpur-11 filed the last one for attacking him the same day,as stated in the report.At least nine members of a family were burnt to death when eight Bihari homes at Kurmitola camp in the city’s Mirpur area were torched following a clash between Biharis and law enforcers, allegedly accompanied by locals early yesterday. Another person with rubber-bullet pellet injuries, reportedly from police firing, died of his wounds in hospital yesterday, as mentioned in the report.It is so uncivilised that some greedy criminals with the political connection find the Bihari’s in our midst most helpless for exploitation. It cannot be denied that those displaced persons would have been citizens of Bangladesh if they were opted for going to Pakistan for being non-Bengalis. But they were collaborators as war criminals. We could not be sufficiently forceful in asking Pakistan to take them. Whatever be the background, they are being helpful to in many ways. They are no problem to us. There is cause for attacking and killing them for any fault on their part. This time those who were burnt to death are in fact killed for grabbing their land and looting their properties. The problem is criminal and the government cannot remain indifferent when innocent people are killed and brutalised for selfish reasons. The local MP Elias Mollah’s name being mentioned by the affected ones for his complicity, if not direct, in the inhuman occurrence that took place. What is clear is that members of the student wing of the ruling party participated in the criminal activities. The police activities would not be much of a help if politically connected criminals are protected. We have no easy way out of the crisis when politics has been criminalised and political leaders rely on such criminals for their money and muscle support.
