Two days after an Islamist mob wreaked havoc in the Narail district of Bangladesh, Hindu victims recounted the horror that transpired on the night of July 15 this year.
Following the Friday prayers (Jumma Namaz), the extremists had attacked properties belonging to the Hindu community. They set three houses on fire, besides dozens of Hindu shops.
The Islamists claimed that an 18-year-old Hindu college student named Akash Saha has hurt their religious sentiments through a Facebook post. Under the pretext of blasphemy, the vicious mob set out to destroy the livelihood of the 108 Hindu families living in the Sahapara village in Narail’s Lohagara Upazila.
One of the victims of the dastardly attack was 62-year-old Deepali Rani, whose house was burnt down in front of her eyes. “After one group looted all our valuables, another group came and found our door open. As there was nothing left to loot, they set our home on fire,” she told The Daily Star.
Deepali was forced to hide in a shed, located in the vicinity of the house. She was accompanied by her son Gobinda, who is a betel leaf trader. The duo crawled under a bed to avoid being spotted by the Islamist mob.
“They could not break in as it (the shed) was locked. They then attacked the temple next door and vandalised the idol,” she lamented. The elderly woman pointed out how the belongings of her granddaughter Rai Saha were turned into ashes.
Life of Hindu turned upside down in Sahapara village
Deepali Rani is not related to Akash Saha in a way. Despite this, her shelter was not spared by the Islamist mob. “Only because the student is Hindu and I too am Hindu, my house was burnt down,” she emphasised.
The 62-year-old stated, “I don’t know how long this threat of violence will haunt us. Who will give us justice? Who will give us security? … If I were in the house while they set it on fire, I would have died. God saved me. But is this any way to survive? All I have now is the sari on my body.”
Despite assurance from the Narail district administration, Deepali is unconvinced. She is still seeking answers. “Why was my house set on fire?” she asked. Her daughter-in-law, Chandra Saha, was not in the Sahapara village at the time of the attack.
On returning home, Chandra learnt about the tragedy that befell her family. She told The Daily Star, “I don’t want to stay here with my children. I don’t want to be a victim.”
One fertilizer dealer named Gopal Saha recounted how he was mercilessly assaulted by the Islamists. He informed that he has been doing business in the Dighalia market for 22 years.
“The only reason they beat me up was that I was Hindu. The accused boy’s house is far away from mine. How is this my fault? … As a Hindu, I don’t feel safe in this village anymore,” he said.
Islamist attacks trigger a mass exodus
According to an ex-member of Dighalia Union Parishad, Beauty Rani, a large number of Hindus have left the Sahapara village after the onslaught by Islamists.” Almost all houses are locked. Only the elders of some families are home. They too are scared,” she informed.
Rani lamented, “When we were being attacked, the police were there. They were watching from a distance and no one came to our rescue. The police can no longer be trusted and that is why people are leaving the village.”
When The Daily Star correspondent Dipankar Roy visited the village, he found only 2 old men in a small hut. Reportedly, one of them was the President of the Radha-Govinda temple of Sahapara village named Shibnath Saha (65).
“Police are on guard in the village, but we cannot trust them. After detaining Ashoke on Friday, the officer-in-charge and Upazila Nirbahi officer told everyone that they were deploying additional forces and that our community would be safe. The attack took place within a few hours,” he said.
According to Dighalia Union Parishad member, Azgar Ali, the government has assured to provide Tk 26000 (₹22,124) to the affected families and rebuild their houses.
Anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh over ‘blasphemy’
In the wee hours of October 13,2021, radical Islamist Iqbal Hossain entered the Nanuar Dighir Par Durga Mandir in Cumilla district of Bangladesh and placed a copy of the Quran on the feet of the idol of Lord Hanuman. His actions triggered a series of violent attacks against the minority Hindus in the country.
The Hindu community had insisted vehemently that nobody among them had placed the Quran at the Puja Pandal and the incident was a deliberate plan to attack the Hindu community.
For over five days, houses and temples of the Hindu community in Bangladesh remained under attack. Videos of broken idols, demolished pandals and Moorti of Maa Durga being thrown in a pond emerged on social media platforms along with other videos of attacks on Hindus.
The police identified Iqbal after analysing video footage at the puja venue, informed Comilla Superintendent of Police (SP) Farooq Ahmed. On October 21 night, the Cox’s Bazar police arrested the accused Iqbal Hossain at around 11 pm.
The development was confirmed by the additional DIG (Crime and Operations) of Chattogram Range Zakir Hossain Khan to the Daily Star. Hossain was handed over to the Cumilla police for further probe in the matter.
After analysing the CCTV footage, it was also found that the accused incited people to commit violence in the morning and gave hate speeches against Hindus.
