The narrow alley that made a left veering from the District Board road into the courtyard of the famous Datta household in Nasirnagar Upazila of Brahmanbaria district was muddy and full of people yesterday. Amidst the daylong drizzle, people from nearby villages came to the Datta house.
For long, this house has been a place to visit for the local Hindus not only for its Kali temple, but also because the Dattas have played a leading role in different crises for the Hindu community. Nidhu Datta, a sexagenarian who fought the Liberation War in Sector 3, however, had no answer to the crisis prevailing in Nasirnagar for the past one week. His own house was attacked and the Kali temple within the boundary wall vandalised last Sunday.
“It came as a shock. I was standing in the courtyard when a group of people started throwing stones at my house. We immediately went inside and locked the door. From inside, we could make out from the sound that the temple was being vandalised.”
Nidhu Datta said that since the Liberation War, he hasn’t seen anything like this in the area. “Even Muslims used to come to our house for advice on different occasions. Religious hostility was something unheard of here. I was taken aback by this.”
Monoronjan Dash, who came to the Datta house from nearby Mahakalpara, told The Independent that this was his third visit to the house in the past one week. “After the attack on the Kali temple, we came to see what happened. But now, we are here to seek advice because we are scared. More houses were attacked early on Friday.”
The fresh attack on Hindu houses happened just five days after the synchronised attack on Hindu temples. Six Hindu houses were burnt down in Banikpara, Akhrapara, Thakurpara and Hashpatalpara in Nasirnagar between 3am and 4am on Friday.
Ironically, after Sunday’s attack, the whole area was being patrolled by the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel. Amidst the security measures, the fresh attack created panic and stirred a sense of insecurity among the Hindus of the area.
Krishnapad Pal, a resident of the predominantly Hindu locality of Hrishipara in Nasirnagar, said they cannot trust law enforcers now. “We are patrolling and guarding our locality. It has become hard for us to repose faith in the police after Friday’s attack.”
When asked as to who he thought attacked Hindu temples and houses, Pal said: “We have heard so many things that it has become confusing. We can only say that the real attackers are yet to be arrested as they are politically connected.”
In overnight drives, the police arrested 33 persons for their alleged involvement in vandalising and torching of Hindu temples and houses. This takes the number of arrests to 44, made in different parts of the district in separate drives.
Some of the family members of the arrested persons who had gathered in front of Nasirnagar police station, however, told The Independent that the police had wrongly arrested them.  Suraiya Begum, who was found crying in front of the police station, said her son Jalil went to save the Hindu houses when a group of people attacked the Hindu temple. “My son has been picked up for helping the Hindus. This is injustice.” The Independent spoke to police officers and found out that most of the arrests were being made based on photos and videos captured by local people during the incident.  Babul Mia, a leader of the Nasirnagar market committee, however, said the videos and photos could mislead the investigation. “When the attacks were taking place, a group of Muslims came forward to save the Hindus. In the videos and photos, both attackers and saviours are seen fighting with each other. I think the investigators need to consider that.”
Many people from the area told The Independent that the synchronised attacks on Hindus was not something that were being done just by an angry mob; rather, a quarter with vested political interests had orchestrated the attack.   
Sudhir Kumar Chakrabarti, convener of the Nasirnagar upazila unit of the Hindu, Bouddho, Christian Oikko Parishad, told The Independent that at a rally that took place on the field in front of the Ashutosh Pilot High School last Sunday, provocative speeches were made to attack Hindu houses. “The rally was organised by a group calling itself ‘Tawhidi Janata’, but it was attended by a number of political leaders of the locality.”
Chakrabarti mentioned the name of Suruj Ali, president of the Chaportola Union Awami League. “Ali attended the meeting with a group of youths. I heard him making a provocative speech.”
Almost all local people interviewed said most of the attackers were youths and teenagers and they were mostly clad in shirt-pants. Some of them were wearing punjabis.  Some of the local people mentioned the names of former Bhureshwar Union Parishad member, Mohammad Oli Miah, and his sons, Sumon and Milon. Sumon and Milon were seen leading a group of youths who attacked Gauro Mandir.
It was known from local people that both Suruj Ali and Mohammad Oli Mia are close to Obaidul Mauktadir, Awami League lawmaker and the party’s Brahmanbaria district president.
According to local people, the Awami League leadership in Brahmanbaria is divided into two factions. Sayedul Haq, minister for fisheries and livestock and the lawmaker from Nasirnagar, heads one group and Obaidul Muktadir the other.
The feud between the two factions escalated over nomination of some candidates in the union parishad elections, locals said.
Many of the local people said that last Sunday, several activists of the district Awami League, led by Atikur Rahman, chairman of Harpur union of Nasirnagar and a close ally of Muktadir, came to the rally at the Nasirnagar College intersection, and later took part in the attack on Hindus.
Shamim Chowdhury, a local Awami League leader who is a close ally of Sayedul Haque, said: “Atikur Rahman is directly involved in the attack because the district AL leadership wants to give a bad name to Sayedul Haq.”
The Independent contacted Atikur Rahman over the phone and he said: “This is a lie. I am not involved in the attack.”
Minister Sayedul Haq, who has been residing in the dak bungalow of Nasirnagar upazila for the past four days, hinted at the alleged involvement of the AL’s district leadership in the attack.
“Someone is intentionally trying to create a bad situation here,” he said when asked by journalists about the intra-party feud in his area.
The minister also said that the attacks were not conducted by people wearing punjabis or prayer caps. “The attacks were manipulated and we are trying to find out who did this.”
Helal Uddin, vice-president of the Brahmanbaria District Awami League, told The Independent that a five-member probe committee is being formed by the district AL. “I am heading the committee, and we have already ousted three leaders for their alleged involvement in the attack.”
Meanwhile, unidentified miscreants set fire to Nasirnagar upazila vice chairman Anjan Kumar Deb’s sadar house on yesterday evening. Anjan Kumar Deb said, family members found smoke was emerging from his jute sticks store around 7pm which were preserved in varanda of his house. Family members extinguished the fire, he said, adding that nobody saw who set the fire.