A house of a Hindu family was set ablaze on Saturday night at a village in Shahrasti upazila of Chandpur as a spate of post-election violence against the community continued unabated.
No one was present at the ‘abandoned’ ancestral home of Barendra Nath Majumdar at Rayeshree village, when an unidentified gang poured petrol and torched the locked house, reports our correspondent.
Majumdar, who lives with his family in Narayanganj, yesterday returned to his village and filed a case against unnamed people in this connection with the Shahrasti police station.
Meanwhile, police yesterday around 4:30am arrested four people on charge of vandalising four idols on Thursday night at Sharbajanin Kali temple in Shibchar upazila of Madaripur district, reports our correspondent.
Barek Bepari, 25, Siraj Akan, 28, Rajjak Dhali, 33, and Anis Ukil, 32 were arrested from Panchchar union’s Goalkanda and Balakandi areas after a case was filed by police in this connection with Shibchar police station on Friday.
Members of the Hindu Community, their places of worship and business establishments became the target of attack in villages across the country including Jessore, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Panchagarh, Rajshahi, Natore, Gaibandha, Tangail, Patuakhali, Jhalakathi, Netrakona, Satkhira and Chittagong before and after the January 5 elections.
At least two people were killed and several women raped during the attacks. Many people of the Hindu community left their homes in fear and did not return, sources in the affected areas said.
Activists of 18-party alliance, particularly those belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, allegedly carried out the attacks on Hindus, in a bid to prevent them from casting votes.