Hindus attacked again in Bangladesh! After the murder of Muslim youth, houses and shops were targeted

There were reports of heavy violence and tension in Bangladesh’s north-western district Rangpur and western district Kushtia on Saturday. A mob enraged after the murder of a Muslim spiritual leader targeted houses and shops of the minority Hindu community in Rangpur. Surprisingly, despite the relatives of the deceased denying the involvement of Hindus, the mob attacked this community. The police are calling it a well-planned conspiracy to divert attention from the main case.

Rakib Hasan, a Muslim spiritual leader, was brutally murdered on Saturday in Daspara Bazaar area of ​​Rangpur, about 300 km from Dhaka. According to preliminary investigation, Hasan was allegedly murdered by a drug smuggler Mohammad Momin due to an old rivalry.

However, within hours of the murder, communal tension spread in the area. An angry mob attacked the houses and shops of Hindus located in Daspara market. According to the local newspaper ‘Pratham Aalo’, more than a hundred families of the Hindu community live in this area. Eyewitnesses say that along with sabotage, the attackers also tried to loot.

attacks to divert attention

Rangpur Police Commissioner Mohammad Majeed Ali told the media that the police is searching for the real killers. He clarified that the violence against the Hindu community was a conspiracy by a third party to divert the attention of the police from the murder case of Rakib Hasan. He said, we have identified those who vandalized Hindu houses and shops and strict action will be taken against them.

The most shocking thing was that deceased Rakib’s mother Noorjahan Begum herself gave a statement that the Hindu community had no role in this murder. He told journalists, we have no dispute with Hindus. We just want the arrest of the real killers of our son.

Accusation of insulting Islam

Parallel to the Rangpur incident, a major incident of violence also took place in Kushtia district, located 200 kilometers west of Dhaka. Here Shamim Raza Jahangir, a school teacher and spiritual leader, was murdered by the mob. He was accused of insulting Islam. According to Daulatpur police station, the attackers not only killed Jahangir but also seriously injured at least seven of his followers. The furious mob also set Jahangir’s ashram on fire. Police said that Jahangir was earlier arrested in 2021 on charges of controversial activities on the complaints of radical organizations, but he was later released on court orders.

try to handle the situation

After these twin attacks, the administration has deployed heavy police force and Rapid Action Battalion in Rangpur and Kushtia to control the situation. At present the situation is said to be tense but under control. The figures of increasing violence against minorities in Bangladesh are frightening. According to the recently released report by ‘Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council’, 133 incidents of communal violence have been recorded in the country between January 1 and March 31 this year. Human rights organizations have appealed to the government to crack down on radical elements and ensure the safety of minority communities.