Another held over attacks

Police yesterday made yet another arrest in connection with Sunday’s attacks on Hindu houses and temples in Brahmanbaria district, taking the number of those held to 11 so far. Brahmanbaria’s additional superintendent of police, Iqbal Hossain, told The Independent that Mohiuddin Ahmed Belal, 30, had been arrested from his home in Chaportola Paschimpara village of the Nasirnagar upazila yesterday morning, following identification based on video footage.
The latest action raised the number of arrestees to 11 in two cases filed against over 1,000 unknown people. “We identified Mohiuddin from a video footage of the vandalism. Later, police arrested him from his house,” said Hossain. He also said the video footage had helped identify several others who had gone on the rampage in Hindu temples and houses. The violence on Sunday had erupted following the allegation that a Facebook post by a Hindu youth, Rasraj Das, had defamed the Holy Kaaba, the most sacred of Islam’s holy places.
“We have identified several others who were engaged in the vandalism on Sunday. We will arrest them, too,” said Hossain.
The additional superintendent of police also said they had seized Das’s mobile phone and sent it to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for experts’ opinion on the provocative Facebook post. “We are waiting for the CID’s opinion on whether the Facebook comment had indeed been posted by by Rasraj. Our preliminary investigation shows that after the main post hurting Kaaba, there was another post on his timeline, after 22 hours, seeking pardon. But the language does not go with the Hindu youth, given his social and educational background,” he said.
“We will soon get the CID report. The experts’ opinion will bring everything to light,” he added.
Hossain said three probe committees had been formed so far—the district police committee, the police headquarters committee and the district administration committee— to investigate the incident.
Meanwhile, the police headquarters probe team, led by additional deputy inspector general (Chittagong range) Shakhawat Hossain, yesterday met the affected Hindu families as part of its probe.
Police sources said various political and human rights groups visited the troubled areas to meet the victims. The situation was now calm, they said, with the police trying to dispel the prevailing fear among the locals. Local MP and fisheries and livestock minister Sayedul Haque yesterday visited the place and spoke to the victims.
A delegation of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal also visited the violence-scarred place in the morning, demanding stern action against the troublemakers. After the attack, the Nasirnagar officer-in-charge was withdrawn on Wednesday and two cases were filed against 1,000-1,200 unknown people. The cases are now under police investigation. Meanwhile, Dhaka University Teachers’ Association condemned the attack, demanding stern punishment for the attackers and rehabilitation of the affected people.

Another held over attacks

Police yesterday made yet another arrest in connection with Sundays attacks on Hindu houses and temples in Brahmanbaria district, taking the number of those held to 11 so far. Brahmanbarias additional superintendent of police, Iqbal Hossain, told The Independent that Mohiuddin Ahmed Belal, 30, had been arrested from his home in Chaportola Paschimpara village of the Nasirnagar upazila yesterday morning, following identification based on video footage. The latest action raised the number of arrestees to 11 in two cases filed against over 1,000 unknown people. We identified Mohiuddin from a video footage of the vandalism. Later, police arrested him from his house, said Hossain. He also said the video footage had helped identify several others who had gone on the rampage in Hindu temples and houses. The violence on Sunday had erupted following the allegation that a Facebook post by a Hindu youth, Rasraj Das, had defamed the Holy Kaaba, the most sacred of Islams holy places. We have identified several others who were engaged in the vandalism on Sunday. We will arrest them, too, said Hossain. The additional superintendent of police also said they had seized Dass mobile phone and sent it to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for experts opinion on the provocative Facebook post. We are waiting for the CIDs opinion on whether the Facebook comment had indeed been posted by by Rasraj. Our preliminary investigation shows that after the main post hurting Kaaba, there was another post on his timeline, after 22 hours, seeking pardon. But the language does not go with the Hindu youth, given his social and educational background, he said. We will soon get the CID report. The experts opinion will bring everything to light, he added. Hossain said three probe committees had been formed so farthe district police committee, the police headquarters committee and the district administration committee to investigate the incident. Meanwhile, the police headquarters probe team, led by additional deputy inspector general (Chittagong range) Shakhawat Hossain, yesterday met the affected Hindu families as part of its probe. Police sources said various political and human rights groups visited the troubled areas to meet the victims. The situation was now calm, they said, with the police trying to dispel the prevailing fear among the locals. Local MP and fisheries and livestock minister Sayedul Haque yesterday visited the place and spoke to the victims. A delegation of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal also visited the violence-scarred place in the morning, demanding stern action against the troublemakers. After the attack, the Nasirnagar officer-in-charge was withdrawn on Wednesday and two cases were filed against 1,000-1,200 unknown people. The cases are now under police investigation. Meanwhile, Dhaka University Teachers Association condemned the attack, demanding stern punishment for the attackers and rehabilitation of the affected people.