Members of Hindu community at Shantiram Union of Gaibandha’s Sundarganj Upazila patrolling in the night
Local leaders of BNP and Awami League in an Upazila of Gaibandha have joined hands to protect the Hindus of the area following attacks on the community in different parts of the country after the Jan 5 elections.
On Jan 6, several homes and business establishments of Hindus were attacked at Kuptala Union of the district’s Sadar Upazila.
The Hindu communities of the district’s Sundargang, Sadullyapur, Palashbari and Govindaganj Upazilas are now living in fear. Local Hindus there have formed defence units and patrolling the areas during nights fearing attacks.
Following the attack on Jan 6, BNP and Awami League leaders of the Union’s Ward-6 agreed to work together to provide security to the local Hindu community.
The local leaders of the two political parties decided to unite at a meeting on Thursday. The meeting was presided by former Union Parishad (UP) chairman Mojibor Rahman.
“The leaders of the two parties have agreed to live peacefully, shunning all sorts of violence,” Rahman told bdnews24.com.
The ward unit Awami League’s General Secretary Zeyad Ali said, “Leaders and activists of both parties have agreed to work together to maintain communal harmony in the area.”
BNP chief of the ward unit Faizar Rahman echoed the same view. “We want to assure the local minorities that such incident (the attack few days ago) will not recur.”
The Upazila administration chief (UNO) Mamunur Rashid confirmed the news of local BNP and Awami League working together to protect the Hindus.
Nani Gopal and Narsesh Chandra were badly beaten up during the attack on Jan 6. Gopal later filed a case against nine local BNP leaders and activists.
The following day local Awami League supporters after taking out a procession at the Kuptala bazaar attacked and beaten up the UP chairman and Union unit BNP president Rafiqul Islam.
Wide-scale violence and attacks in polling stations on Jan 5 forced postponement of voting in three constituencies of Gaibandha.
On Feb last year, Jamaat-e-Islami activists unleashed waves of violence in several Upazilas of Gaibandha following its leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee’s war crimes verdict.
Three policemen were killed at Sundarganj Upazila’s Bamandanga on the same day by Jamaat supporters.
Source: Bd news24
