Nasirnagar Mayhem: Ministers point finger at BNP-Jamaat

Three ministers and the police chief at a rally in Nasirnagar yesterday apparently blamed BNP-Jamaat for the October 30 attack on the upazila's Hindu community.

Without making any hint of local Awami League men's involvement in the incident, they urged all to live side by side forgetting whatever happened.

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The attack was an act of those who were involved in similar previous attacks, they told the “all-party” rally organised by Brahmanbaria police at Ashutosh Pilot High School playground.

Additional Inspector General (Special Branch) of police Mohammad Javed Patwary and Deputy Inspector General (Chittagong Range) of police Shafiqul Islam had a different view of the attack. They admitted police's failure in providing enough security to the religious minority people.

Shafiqul also offered an apology to the victims for the failure.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said although the locals “could not identify” any of the attackers, it won't be a big task for the intelligence agencies to identify them.

“It might take some time [to arrest the perpetrators] because whatever we do, we do it rightly and with proper evidence. We don't want to stage a drama like that of Joj Mia [centering the August 21, 2004 grenade attack],” he added.

“And we will arrest the rest of the perpetrators. No one will be spared.”

The minister said the intelligence agencies would be in a better position to tell why the recent attacks on Hindu temples were carried out in different parts of the country as they were working on it.

Asaduzzaman said police so far rounded up 74 people based on video footage of the incident.

Although the banner of the rally claimed it was an “all party” event, only local AL leaders were present alongside representatives from different religions.

Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sayedul Hoque, also the local lawmaker, once again came down heavily on the media, accusing them of making a mountain out of a molehill over the Nasirnagar attack.

“The media always want negative reports. They wanted to make it an international issue to defame Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as she has become a world leader,” said Sayedul.

Making an oblique reference to the BNP-Jamaat alliance, Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque said those who want to create obstacles to the government's development initiatives had carried out the attack.

He also said Jamaat men who had created anarchy in 2013 centering sighting of Sayedee's (Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee) face on the moon were behind the atrocities in Nasirnagar. 

Local AL leaders also blamed BNP-Jamaat men of nearby villages for the attack.

Over 100 houses and business establishments and at least 17 temples of Hindus were looted and vandalised during the hate attack on October 30 by religious zealots over a Facebook post from the account of Hindu fisherman Rasraj Das, now behind bars. The post shared a doctored photo showing an idol set on the Kaaba.

Fisheries and Livestock Minister Sayedul Hoque said, “Rasraj Das didn't upload that image demeaning religion in Facebook. According to an intelligence report, it was posted from Dhaka. The image is now in a forensic lab.”