Brahmanbarhia Police have been granted five days in custody to quiz Atiqur Rahman Ankhi, the alleged mastermind of the attack on Hindus in Nasirnagar Upazila.
Ankhi, a local Awami League leader, was arrested from Dhaka on Thursday.
He was produced before a Brahmanbarhia court on Sunday and was sent on police remand for five days, said court police’s Inspector Mahbubur Rahman.
Ankhi is a former district committee member of the Juba League, the ruling party’s youth wing. Police said he runs a liquor cartel.
At least 15 temples and more than a hundred Hindu homes were vandalised and looted in Nasirnagar over an image posted on Facebook which ‘insulted Islam’.
Ankhi’s involvement in the violence was also revealed by a bdnews24.com investigation into the Oct 30 attack.
The Hindu households were attacked using men, who were brought in from Haripur on 14 to 15 trucks. Ankhi is said to have arranged and paid for the trucks.
Local political leaders said supporters of MP RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, who is the head of Awami League’s Brahmanbarhia unit, planned the attacks on the Hindu community to implicate their rivals.
Another AL leader held
Police have arrested sacked local leader of the Awami League, Md Suruj Ali, for his alleged involvement in the attacks.
Suruj Ali