With her child on her back, a woman looks in despair at the rubble of her house in Kornai village of Dinajpur Sadar upazila yesterday
Anti-polls activists have been attacking Hindu communities since the January 5 general elections.
Attacks on Hindu communities which were allegedly conducted by BNP-Jamaat activists continued in different parts of the country yesterday. Various human rights, cultural and social organisations protested against the attacks.
In Jhargaon village under Thakurgaon’s sadar upazila, BNP-Jamaat activists torched a temple and vandalized an idol early in the morning, our Thakurgaon correspondent reports.
Locals told the Dhaka Tribune that the attack was carried out at a temple adjacent to the house of one Mahindra Nath.
Asaduzzaman, officer-in-charge of Ruhiya police station, said the police were working to arrest the perpetrators.
On the other hand, police in Mymensingh arrested two Jubo Dal activists yesterday for their alleged attempt to torch a temple at Kanihari in Trishal upazila, our correspondent in the district reported.
The arrestees were Bhulu Miah, 35 and Sarwar Hossain Millat, 22.
Early on Wednesday, miscreants tried to torch a temple in Kanihari Tirki Tarafderbari of Trishal, but fled the scene when locals rushed to the spot, said Trishal police station OC Firoj Talukder.
Anti-polls activists have been attacking Hindu communities since the January 5 general elections.
Human rights group Ain O Salish Kendra issued a statement yesterday in protest of the attacks. They called for immediate relief and rehabilitation for those who were affected. Signed by its executive director, Mohammad Nur Khan, the organisation’s statement said the affected people were leaving their houses due to the lack of security.
The organization also demanded an investigation of the incidents by a judicial commission and punishment for the perpetrators.
The Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA) also formed a human chain yesterday, demanding immediate punishment for the miscreants who have been killing innocent people, attacking minorities and destroying educational institutions and government property during the recent blockades and shutdowns.
Speaking at the human chain, DUTA president Farid Uddin Ahmed said: “We have to protest against evil forces from now on, as they want to make Bangladesh like Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
Although being held under the banner of the DUTA, teachers from the BNP-backed white panel did not join the human chain.
Meanwhile, 351 pro-BNP and Jamaat-backed teachers at Rajshahi University condemned the attacks on minority communities and demanded an impartial and independent investigation under the supervision of the United Nations.
In Barisal, the city and district units of the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad and Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad formed a human chain and brought out a procession, demanding the punishment of the perpetrators and calling for security to be ensured for members of the Hindu community.
In Dinajpur and Karmojibi Nari, an NGO for women formed a human chain to demand security for the Hindu communities and exemplary punishment for the people behind the recent attacks.
In Rangamati, the Sanatan Jubo Parishad and Puja Udjapon Committee demanded the immediate arrest and exemplary punishment for the attackers.
In Sherpur, Bangladesh Garo Students Association formed a human chain, demanding punishment forthe people who attacked the Hindu communities, as well as security to be ensured for all minority groups.
Bangladesh Islami Andolon Chairman Syed Mohammad Rezaul Karim also expressed concern and anger over the recent attacks on the Hindu community members.
Criticising the government for not “taking action against the perpetrators,” he said: “The government’s silence is mysterious.”