6 temples, houses burnt outside
Dhaka
.
Jamat "Islamists" damaged at least six temples, including one of Buddhists, and torched houses
and business establishments of Hindu people in Noakhali, Gaibandha, Chittagong,
Rangpur, Sylhet, Chapainawabganj .
In
Rajganj of Noakhali, Jamaat-Shibir men set ablaze a temple and eight houses of
the Hindu community.
The
Jamaat-Shibir men also looted a jewellery shop owned by one Biplob Sarkar at
Chandraganj Purbo Bazar in Begumganj.
Witnesses
and police said hours after top Jamaat leaders Delawar Hossain Sayedee had been
sentenced to death, the marauding activists equipped with firearms, iron rods
and kerosene set fire to Harishiva temple in Rajganj market area at 3:30pm.
"They
returned an hour later. This time we were left with no choice but to flee the
area, as they started torching our houses with kerosene," schoolteacher
Shankar Chandra, who lost his house in the attack, told The Daily Star over the
phone.
Some
50 Hindu people used to live in the houses burnt down, he said, adding that all
but a few people had managed to escape to safety. Those left behind had been
beaten up and kicked out of their houses by the Jamaat-Shibir attackers.
"We
ran for our lives leaving everything behind. I was only seven during the
Liberation War in 1971, but it didn't feel this insecure even then," said
Shankar Chandra.
.
CHITTAGONG
Jamaat-Shibir men attacked two Hindu-majority localities at Jaldi union of
Banshkhali upazila and set ablaze a Buddhist temple at Satkania upazila of the
district yesterday.
They
set fire to houses at Dhopapara and Mohajonpara of the union and attacked
people with sticks, iron rods and sharp weapons, said Inspector Md Shahjahan of
Banshkhali Police Station.
Two
people had been critically wounded in the attack, said the inspector, adding
that the injured had been undergoing treatment at upazila health complex.
Jamaat-Shibir
men also set ablaze three shops belonging to Hindu people at Kaliaish union of
Satkania upazila, said Additional Superintendent (South) Md Iltutmish of Chittagong
Metropolitan Police.
GAIBANDHA
Rioters of Jamaat-e-Islami and student body Islamic Chhatra Shibir attacked a
temple and business establishments belonging to Hindus at Bhelkobazar in
Sundarganj upazila of the district yesterday afternoon.
Later
in the evening, they swooped on and vandalised some houses in Shovaganj union.
Meanwhile,
Hindu community leaders last night told The Daily Star that vandalism, arson
and looting took place in temples, houses and business establishments of Hindu
people in Sylhet, Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Laxmipur and Chapainawabganj.
According
to them, attackers had vandalised the central Kali temple at Mithapukur upazila
in Rangpur and another at Kansat in Chapainawabganj.
"We
are observing the situation. So far we have heard they had attacked and
vandalised temples, houses and business establishments of Hindu people at least
in 10 districts," said Nirmal Chatterjee, secretary general of Dhaka
Mahanagar Puja Committee.
"We
have informed law enforcers of the situation and sought security to the Hindu
community," he added.
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