Bangladesh police arrest dozens for attacking Hindus

DHAKA, Banglades

Bangladesh police started a manhunt following an attack on houses in Hindu minority communities in a village in northern Bangladesh, the local police head said on Friday.

Police arrested 22 suspects on Friday after Muslim hard-liners attacked a village in Shalla Upazila of Sunamganj district on Wednesday, leaving 70 Hindu households destroyed.

The incident occurred after a Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh leader, an Islamic non-political group, was allegedly criticized in a Facebook post by a Hindu villager on Monday.

Police arrested the Hindu man for hurting religious sentiment but his arrest could not quell hard-liners.

Later, hundreds of Muslim hard-liners vandalized several Hindu houses, according to media reports. There was no report of physical assault as the minority community left their homes because they feared being attacked.

“The situation in the region has been brought under control and normalcy has returned. And, we [law enforcement, including police and elite force RAB] remain on alert to avoid any unwelcoming situation.” local police station chief Nazmul Haque told Anadolu Agency “A separate police camp has been set up to provide necessary safety and security to the Hindu community and others. Additional forces are deployed and patrolling to this effect, including to the response of the scheduled visit of Indian premier [Narendra] Modi” he said.

Modi is scheduled to visit Dhaka to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh and will join the 100 birth anniversary of Bangladesh's founding leader, Mujibur Rahman, on March 26 in Dhaka as a chief guest.

His visit has started witnessing huge protests.

A police official said 22 suspects were produced before a court for further legal proceedings. “Our drive is to continue to detain people involved in the attack on our citizens,” he said.

Two cases have been filed with police stations regarding the attack against more than 1,500 unidentified people.

Police and locals alleged that Hefazat-e-Islam followers were linked to the attacks. Hifazat-e Islam, however, denied a link and claimed that the attack was politically motivated.

In a statement sent to the media on Friday, the organization's central organizing secretary demanded the government take legal action against those involved in such heinous attacks and demand exemplary punishment.

Terming that Bangladesh is a place of communal harmony and peaceful co-existence of all religious faiths, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and chief of RAB Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun warned that no one will be spared if found involved in the incident and hurting religious harmony in the country