Brahmanbaria mayhem: 33 more held
At least 15 Hindu temples in Brahmanbaria’s Nasirnagar are vandalised and looted on October 30, 2016, along with hundreds of houses of the Hindu community. Photo: Collected
Police in overnight drives detained 33 persons more for their alleged involvement in the synchronised attack on the Hindus in Brahmanbaria October 30.
READ more: Fresh attack on Hindu houses
With this, law enforcers picked up total 44 people in connection with the attack, Mizanur Rahman, superintendent of Brahmanbaria police, told The Daily Star over a phone call this morning.
They were detained from different parts of the district in separate drive started last night, the SP said.
Also READ: Who are the attackers?
A vandalised temple in Nasirnagar upazila of Brahmanbaria after attack on October 30, 2016. Star file photo
Sunday's attack followed a Facebook post from the account of Rasraj Das, a local fisherman, "hurting the religious sentiment" of the Muslims.
The post showed a photo of Hindu God Shiva placed on the photo of Kaba, considered a holy place in Islam.
Rasraj, 27, is now in jail in a case filed over the post. Before his arrest and the systematic mayhem, he claimed he had nothing to do with the post, but apologised for it anyway. Relatives say his account may have been hacked.
Following widespread criticisms over the failure of the police and the local administration to prevent the attack, the officer-in-charge of Nasirnagar police was withdrawn.
Armed with sticks and sharp weapons, the zealots, mostly from Touhidi Janata, went on the rampage in Duttabari, Goura Mandir, Jagannath Mandir and Kashipara Mandir. Idols at the temples were either destroyed or damaged, they said.
At least 58 families were affected and 17 temples were either damaged or looted when religious zealots went berserk for around two hours in at least eight Hindu-dominated areas that day.
The office of the Nasirnagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer conducted the survey and submitted its findings to the deputy commissioner of Brahmanbaria on Wednesday.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments