arson on Gaibandha Santal houses
Police involved, finds judicial probe
MUHAMMAD YEASIN
A probe report has found that some members of law enforcement agencies and local people were responsible for setting fire to Santal houses during the eviction drive in Gobindaganj upazila. The chief judicial magistrate of Gaibandha yesterday submitted the probe report before the High Court (HC).
According to the report, it was found in footage from a video clip of the incident, broadcast by the Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, that some policemen and two civilians actively set fire to Santal houses during the eviction drive.
Men in uniform were also seen in the vicinity, but they did not try to douse the fire, the report added. It was
found from witness statements that the Santals had left Chamgari Bill and Kuarmara and taken shelter in Madarpur and Joypur villages to save their lives.
Hence, they could not identify members of law enforcement agencies and local culprits who committed the crime of buring their houses, the report noted.
On December 14, the HC directed the chief judicial magistrate of Gaibandha to investigate who were involved in setting fire on Santal houses following their eviction drive on November 6.
The court also directed the magistrate to investigate whether the police were involved in the arson attack and submit the investigation report to it within 15 days.
The HC bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Deb Nath issued the directive after hearing two writ petitions seeking action against the attackers.
On November 6, a clash had ensued among indigenous people, workers of Rangpur Sugar Mills and police, following an attempt by the mill workers to evict the Santals from the mill area. This left three Santals dead, 20 injured and several hundreds homeless.
