In a third incident of hate crime against religious minority in Bangladesh, a house belonging to a Hindu family was allegedly set on fire in Madhyo Jhargaon village in Sadar upazila area. The latest incident of a Hindu family being violently attacked comes just two days before the general elections, scheduled for Sunday.
52-year-old Jatru Barman, one of the victims, said that the incident took place around 2:00 am on Thursday when the family members were asleep.
“As the three rooms for keeping straw are around 15 yards from our houses the fire did not spread to our homesteads,” Barman was quoted by Daily Star. The family were quick to inform Baliadangi Fire Station. The fire fighters were able to bring the fire under control with the help of local residents.
Officer in-charge of Ruhea Police Station, Prodip Kumar Roy, said that the preliminary probe indicated that criminals had set the straw on fire to create panic.
Arunangshu Datta Tito, district unit president of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, too said that the arson attacks were carried out at different villages for creating panic among the local Hindu community ahead of December 30 polls.
The area’s fire service station master Mofidar Rahman Khan was quoted by bdnews24.com, “I saw my house on fire and I smelled petrol. The huts burned down in five to seven minutes. Someone used petrol to set my house on fire to scare our Hindu community and keep us away from voting in the upcoming election.”
Akhanagar Union Parishad Chairman Nurul Islam sought support from the police against the perpetrators of the torching of the minority community’s homes.
RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed said that the attack against the Hindu family homes at Thakurgaon were ‘disgraceful to the nation.’
“This country belongs to everyone. People from all communities came together in 1971 and sacrificed their blood to liberate and take the country forward. We are still working together under the leadership of the government,” he said.