Communal violence intensifies, minority communities worried: Unity Council

Staff Correspondent

As the day of the 13th National Parliamentary Election approaches, communal violence in the country is increasing at an alarming rate, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has said.

The organization said that due to the recent series of violence, minority communities across the country are living in deep fear and anxiety about the future.

According to the Unity Council, at least 51 incidents of communal violence occurred across the country in December.

These included 10 murders, 10 thefts and robberies, 23 cases of occupation of houses, businesses, temples and land, looting and arson, 4 cases of detention and torture on charges of religious insult and being agents of ‘RAW’, 1 case of attempted rape and 3 cases of physical torture.

These demands were made in a statement signed by Manindra Kumar Nath, acting general secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, on Tuesday.

The organization said that this pattern of violence continued in the first week of January this year.

The organization said that on January 2, Satya Ranjan Das’ 96-acre paddy field was set on fire in Ramgati, Lakshmipur. On January 3, businessman Khokon Chandra Das was hacked to death and set on fire in Shariatpur.

Early on the same day, a robbery took place in Ward No. 4 of Amuchia Union in Boalkhali Upazila of Chittagong, taking everyone hostage in the house of Milon Das.

Another similar incident took place in Homna, Comilla, where 10 bhari of gold ornaments, 12 bhari of silver, and 20,000 taka in cash were looted from the house of Sanu Das.

On January 4, a gold merchant named Shuvo Poddar was robbed of nearly 30 baht of gold ornaments from his shop while his face was tied. On the same day, a 40-year-old Hindu widow was allegedly raped, tied to a tree, and tortured with her hair cut in Kaliganj, Jhenaidah.

At the same time, a fanatic group demanded the removal of Kurigram Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer Annapurna Debnath, calling her a ‘friend of the fascist government’ and a ‘member of ISKCON’ for carrying out election-related duties.

In addition, on January 4, police arrested local NCP leader MA Tafsir and his associate Manjurul Alam in connection with an extortion case in Bareya village of Bochaganj upazila of Dinajpur.

On January 5, 37-year-old Rana Pratap Bairagi, an ice cream vendor, was summoned from his business establishment in Monirampur, Jessore, and shot and killed in public with his throat slit.

On the same day, grocery shopkeeper Mani Chakraborty was stabbed to death in Palash, Narsingdi. According to the Oikya Parishad, there have been many more such horrific incidents, the full details of which are yet to be found.

The central committee of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has expressed strong condemnation and deep concern over these incidents in a statement.

The organization claims that the minority community is suffering from insecurity due to the ongoing violence and is worried about voting safely and without hindrance in the upcoming national parliamentary elections.

According to the Oikya Parishad, a communal gang is systematically carrying out these violence to prevent minorities from voting for their preferred candidate in the elections. The organization has strongly demanded that the government and the Election Commission take effective measures to immediately prevent these violence.