Amidst the ongoing communal violence in Bangladesh, fundamentalists have once again targeted Hindus. During the Durga Puja festival last week, a group of assailants torched 20 houses of Hindus amid protests by the minority community against the demolition of the temple, news reports have claimed.
According to a report by BDNews24.Com, houses of Hindus were targeted in a village of Peerganj in the Rangpur district late on Sunday night.
The report quoted Rangpur SP Mohammad Kamarujamman as saying that a Facebook post spread a rumour that a young Hindu man from the village had “insulted the religion”, after which the police rushed there. The police were reportedly stationed outside the man’s house, while the attackers set fire to other houses. The fire control room said 20 houses, two kitchens, two barns and 20 piles of dry grass were set ablaze in the Piroganj Majhipara area. It has also been said that an ‘uncontrolled mob’ had started the fire.
The police rushed to a colony of fishermen as tension mounted over a rumour that a young Hindu man from the village had “dishonoured religion” in a Facebook post, the report quoted district’s superintendent of police Mohammad Qamruzzaman as saying.
The police said that no casualties have been reported in the attack. As many as 52 suspects have been arrested while a manhunt was launched for more suspects under a “combing operation” in collaboration with other security forces, he added. As the police stood guard around the man’s home, the attackers set fire to other homes nearby, the report said.
The Fire Service Control Room said that their report from the scene indicates that 20 residential houses, two kitchens, two barns and 20 haystacks belonging to 15 different owners were torched in Pirganj’s Majhipara, it said, adding that an ‘unruly crowd’ has been identified as the cause of fire. The fire service received a report of the fire at 8.45pm and finally put it out by 4.10am, the report said.
The arson incident occurred amid rising communal tension over an alleged blasphemy incident at a Durga Puja venue in Cumilla which led to attacks on Hindu temples and clashes between vandals and the police in Cumilla, Chandpur, Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Moulvibazar, Gazipur, Chapainawabganj, Feni and other districts. Dozens of people have been arrested over the attacks and the spread of communal hatred on social media, the report said.
