Police have raided a village in Sunamganj to nab the perpetrators who attacked the homes of Hindu residents following a Facebook post.
"The police raid is still on to capture those who took part in the attacks,” Saheb Ali Pathan, additional police superintendent in Sunamganj, said, reports bdnews24.com.
Around one and a half dozens of suspects have been arrested as of Friday morning, said a police official, though police have not disclosed their identities.
On Wednesday, assailants attacked around 70 Hindu households in Noagaon village in Shalla Upazila vandalising them. Police and locals have held Hifazat-e Islami activists responsible for the attacks.
Two cases have been filed with Shalla Police Station over the incident. One of them was filed by police against 1,500 “unidentified” people, said local police station chief Nazmul Haque.
Habibpur Union Parishad Chairman Bibekananda Majumder filed the other case naming 80 people.
“Now the authority should arrest the accused and give them exemplary punishment,” Bibekananda said.
On Monday, Hifazat chief Junaid Babunagari, Joint Secretary-General Mamunul Haque and other central leaders attended a conference in Dirai Upazila organised by the radical Islamic group.
A Hindu villager posted comments on Facebook criticising Haque's speech to the conference, according to police.
Followers of Mamunul described the incident as “religiously inflammatory” and brought out a protest procession on Tuesday evening. Police arrested the man the same night to bring the situation under control.
On Wednesday morning, thousands of Mamunul’s followers from Kashipur, Nachni, Chandipur and other villages inhabited by Muslims attacked Noagaon village with sticks and locally made weapons. The Hifazat supporters ransacked the Hindu homes and looted valuables after the residents fled the village.
Hifazat-e Islam denied any link to vandalism. "Ordinary people have gathered and attacked the house of the man [who posted comments on Facebook]," said Moulana Ataullah Amin, deputy organising secretary of Hifazat-e Islam.
RAB Director-General Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun visited the victims of the attacks on Thursday. "Those involved in the attacks on Hindu households will not be spared,” he said.
