Leaders of Puja Celebration Committee alleges police of trying to settle the matter instead of taking legal steps
Miscreants have vandalised at least four idols of Hindu goddess Durga at two separate Puja Mondops at Doba village in Rupsha Upzila in Khulna early Monday.
The miscreants also vandalised two houses as well as 10 shops and looted valuables, leaving at least seven people injured.
The injured are Sujit Kumar Bagchi, 28, Sujit Kumar Basu, 27,Chayan Dash, 24, Sagor Odhikari, 21, Biplob Kumar Sarder, 28,Amit Kumar Bishwas, 27, and Amit Kumar Majumdar, 28.
Witnesses said a group of miscreants led by one Sohag Mollah attacked the Mondops at midnight and vandalised the idols following an altercation over sitting arrangements at a cultural programme.
According to the locals, a cultural programme was arranged at Doba village on Sunday night, marking the Durga Puja. Some Muslim youths of Anandanagar village entered inside the programme premises and tried to sit on the reserved seats for women.
At one stage, the youths of Doba village engaged with an altercation with the youths of Anandanagr village over sitting arrangements. Later, the muslim youths left the place, went to their village and made an announcement through the microphone of a mosque saying that “Hindu youths attacked Muslim youths.”
Following the announcement, the people of Anandanagar “equipped with local weapons” attacked two mondops at Doba village and vandalised the idols and looted several houses and shops.
Later, the Hindu community people, who were also equipped with local weapons, gathered in the area in order to prevent further attack.
In line of the tension, an arbitration was arranged between the representatives of both the villages and finally they managed to control the situation, said locals.
While contacted, Officer-in-Charge of Rupsha police station Md Mezbah Uddin said: “The incident was nothing big. The matter has been settled through a meeting between the leaders of both sides.”
However, the leaders of Puja Celebration Committee alleged that the police was trying to settle the matter instead of taking legal steps against the attackers.
Condemning the attack, Ratan Mitro, general secretary of Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad, Khulna District unit, demanded arrest of the miscreants including Sohag Mollah.