Mob torches 30 houses of Hindus in Bangladesh over Fb post

The aggressors claimed they were infuriated by a defamatory status published from the Facebook account of one Titu Roy, who hails from Thakurbari.

Dhaka : One person was killed when police opened fire to ward off an angry mob that turned violent and launched an arson attack on Hindu houses at Thakurbari village in Rangpur Sadar upazila on Friday.

At least five more people were severely injured as police fired rounds of rubber bullets and tear gas shells at the angry crowd.

Before the police intervened, the aggressors had set fire to at least 30 Hindu houses of the village. They also looted and vandalised a good number of houses in that village, according to local sources.

A rumour shaped and vented the anger of the Muslims in the neighbouring villages against the Hindu community.

The rumour was that one Titu Roy, originally from Thakurbari village but currently living in Narayanganj, put up a Facebook post defaming Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) a few days ago.

The attack was carried out by a section among the 20,000-strong crowd, that was reportedly mustered out from six to seven neighbouring villages, including Paglapeer, Mominpur and Horialkuthi, after the Jumma prayers.

This incident highlights the atrocities on Hindus in Islamic Bangladesh. Attacks on Hindus by jihadis are going on from hundreds of years and fanatics in Bangladesh are following path of their ancestors. As all of us know that, in 1901 Hindu population was 33% in Bangladesh, which declined to 8.9 % in 2011 census. Also thousands of temples have been destroyed. The main reason behind this decline of Hindus is jihadi mentality of fanatics in Bangladesh. Now Hindus expect that Indian govt should raise concern about such plight of Hindus with Bangladesh govt and ask them to ensure that such incidents should not happen in future. – Editor, Hindujagruti.org

There was a melee of chases and counter chases between the law enforcers and the crowd. At one point, police fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to control the situation.

Six people with bullet injuries were admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital. Amogn them, a youth named Hamidul Islam succumbed to his injuries later.

The angry mob later blocked the Rangpur-Dinajpur highway to protest against the police attack, halting the vehicular moment for about four hours in the afternoon.

Kotwali police station Officer-in-Charge (Operation) Moktarul Islam said they had deployed a huge number of police personnel in that area and a tense situation is still prevailing there.

The district administration has formed a three-member probe body, headed by Additional District Magistrate Abu Rafa Mohammad Rafiq, to investigate the incident. The committee has been asked to submit its report in seven days, said Rangpur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Wahiduzzaman.

The DC also mentioned that they had arranged for relief materials for the affected families in the Hindu village.

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53 arrested over attack on Rangpur Hindu houses

The savagery of the attackers has left dozens of Hindu families homeless and penniless

More than 30 homes belonging to Hindu families in Rangpur’s Thakurbari Village were ransacked and looted before being set on fire by a mob over a rumoured Facebook post on Friday.

The situation in Thakurbari Village is still tense, as a man was killed when police opened fire to ward off the angry mob that turned violent and launched the arson attack on Hindu homes.

Police filed two cases over the incident at Kotwali and Gangachara police stations. So far, 53 suspects have been arrested, Rangpur’s Additional Superintendent of Police Zakir Hossain said.

Rangpur Deputy Commissioner Wahiduzzaman said they had formed a three-member committee to look into the incident. The committee has been asked to file a report within seven days.

The savagery of the attackers has left dozens of families homeless and penniless. Many victims are yet to return to their homes over concerns of further attacks.

One of the victims, Dulali Rani told the Dhaka Tribune: “A mob came to our neighbourhood on Friday afternoon and started ransacking our home without any provocation. They even took our cattle.

“They burned everything, even my cooking pots. We do not have a place to sleep at night, and no way to cook food.”

Several villagers pointed out that if someone posted a derogatory status on Facebook, hold that one person accountable for his or her action.

Many residents of Thakurbari village said they had heard about the Facebook status, allegedly posted by a native of Thakurbari village named Titu Roy, but very few admitted to seeing it.

One of the witnesses, Monmoth Chandra said thousands of protesters from six nearby villages banded together after the Jumma prayers, and attacked the Hindu neighbourhood.

“The mob pelted stones at our homes. We ran away fearing for our safety. The attackers then looted our homes and set them on fire,” he added.

Titu Roy, who allegedly posted the Facebook status, lives and works in Narayanganj’s Fatullah.

Bhupen Sarker, who lives in Thakurbari, demanded that an investigation be launched to determine whether Titu’s Facebook ID was hacked. He also demanded exemplary punishment for those who rallied the locals to engage in violence, looting and arson.

Meanwhile, sources from law enforcement agencies said a large number of policemen had been deployed in the area.

On Friday evening, Rangpur Range DIG Khandaker Golam Faruq, DC Wahiduzzaman and Superintendent of Police Mizanur Rahman visited the spot.

They assured that the victims of the attack would be compensated and rehabilitated.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Saifur Rahman said the situation in Thakurbari Village was under control.

Source : Dhaka Tribune