|
|
The Daily Observer Temple ransacked, set on fire in Madaripur MADARIPUR, Dec 3:–Some unidentified miscreants ransacked a temple and set fire to it in the town here on Saturday, reports UNB. Witnesses said the terrorists entered into the temple (Kali Mandir) at dead of night and damaged the valuables. Later they looted 35 sacks of cement kept for the construction work of the temple and set fire to the morgue of the temple. The incident has created panic in the area. A case was filed. Another report from Rajbari adds: Some unidentified miscreants damaged the statue of "Goddess Kali" of a temple near Mankhanapur bazaar of Sadar upazila here on Saturday. Witnesses and the secretary of the temple said they found the statue broken in the morning. The Daily Star 6 Hindu
women, girl allegedly gangraped in Bagerhat At least five women and a girl belonging to the Hindu community were gangraped by an armed gang at Gopalpur village under Kachua upazila in Bagerhat district on November 16, some of the victims and their family members alleged while talking to this correspondent on Thursday. They said they did not disclose the incident so long as the miscreants threatened to kill them if they did so or complain to police. The miscreants forcibly entered five houses at about midnight, gangraped the women and an eleven-year-old girl and also took away gold ornaments, they alleged. But no male nor female member of any of these five families could identify the armed miscreants. Even a pregnant women was not spared, they claimed. "I had to pay Tk 6,000 for freeing my pregnant wife from being kidnapped by the miscreants," said the husband of one of the alleged victims. The miscreants also asked them to leave their homes for good, they alleged. Kachua thana police refuted the allegation as none of the victims lodged any complaint. "Yet, I shall definitely investigate the matter," said the OC of the thana. Meanwhile, Shubol Chandra Das, Head Master of Satgambuj Union BSC Secondary School under Sadar upazilla of Bagerhat district, said at a press conference on Tuesday that the minority community was being used as a political tool by vested groups to destroy the communal harmony. Terming newspaper reports as "concocted," Shubol Chandra claimed that there has been no incident of rape of Hindu women or any sort of persecution in any village under Sadar upazila. He claimed that there was no rape incident in Srighat and Sadullapur villages. He further claimed that no fish farm was looted in Sadar upazila as was alleged by some vested quarters. No Hindu family so far left for India fearing attack, Shubol Chandra told the press conference, held at Bagerhat Press Club. Many distinguished members of the minority community from four villages in Sadar upazila were present at the press conference. 46
murdered in the capital last month The most sensational of the killings were the double-murders at Mirpur and another at Mohammadpur. Terrorists in the early hours of November 2, killed two brothers, Mizanur Rahman, 30, and Ziaul Haq, 25, at Mirpur, by slitting their throats. They were killed for their refusal to pay extortion money. The other twin murders took place at Mohammadpur's Khilji Road on November 18. Kamal Hossain, 55, a customs employee, and his wife Sultani Begum, 48, fell prey to terrorists' bullets as they were caught in the crossfire during a gunfight between two rival terrorist groups. The couple was on their way back to their Adabar residence after visiting an ailing relative at Suhrawardy Hospital. Ironically, during the time when the unfortunate couple died, the home minister himself was present at the Mohammadpur police station. The two rival groups responsible for the couple's death traded around a hundred rounds of gunshots creating panic among residents in the area. Following the incident, all police personnel of Mohammadpur thana were transferred but no action was taken against any one of them for negligence of duty. Of the total 46 murders, 13 took place in the Mirpur thana area, nine in Mohammadpur, four in Demra, three each in Motijheel, Uttara and Shyampur, two each in Dhanmondi, Gulshan and Pallabi, and one each in the Kamrangirchar, Tejgaon, Sutrapur, Hazaribagh and Badda thana areas. In contrast, October had seen 30 murders out of which 5 occurred in the Dhanmondi thana area, three each in Mirpur, Ramna and Khilgaon, two each in Sutrapur, Hazaribagh, Pallabi and Uttara, and one each in Demra, Kafrul, Badda, Mohammadpur, Tejgaon, Lalbagh, Sabujbagh and Shyampur. A couple, two young brothers, four small traders, four businessmen, a garage technician, four BNP leaders and activists, a female garments employee and a security guard were among the victims in October. Also, four alleged muggers were beaten to death by angry mobs. Three of the muggers were killed in Motijheel's Bijoynagar and Paltan areas alone. Businessmen and other sources in the area complained about an unholy alliance between police and muggers. The nexus between police and muggers was proven several times in the past but the situation has remained unchanged. The drug trade scenario in the Agargaon's BNP slum under Mohammadpur thana has not changed either, rather it seems to be thriving. Police are very reluctant to get tough with the drug peddlers due to the huge sum of money they get as their share from the drug trade. Apart from murders, other criminal activities like mugging, extortion and robbery were also on the rise during November, indicating a virtual collapse of law and order. Forty
journalists attacked or given death threats since Oct In a letter to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, Reporters Sans Frontiers (reporters without borders) and Bangladesh Centre for Devlopement, Journalism and Communication (BCDJC) protested 'violence' perpetrated by BNP activists against the media. Summary of the letter was made available to The Daily Star yesterday. Both the organisations rsequested the prime minister to put put an end to such violence and bring the culprits to trial. They also urged the government to release writer and columnist Shahrier Kabir and withdraw charges against him. The letter noted with satisfaction the government's decision to ask police to reopen investigation into the murder of seven journalists over the last five years. Two dailies were targets of vandalism, two journalists were threatened with death and one reporter was attacked on October 20 alone, it pointed out. The journalist's who were attacked or threatened with death include Rifat bin Tuha, Akil Poddhar, Rafiqul Hasan Tuhin of Janakantha in Narail, Kushtia and Habiganj respectively, Muktar Hossain Golap of Sangbad in Kishoreganj, Mamunur Rashid of Janakantha, DU; Mohammad Muniruzzaman Munir of Jugantor in Nachal, Humayun Kabir Mithu of Mutakantha in Kushtia and KM Reza of Dainik Matribhumi in Putia, Saiful Islam Rob of Jugantor, Muzaffar Rahman of Danik Janmabhumi in Tara and Shaukat Milton of Janaknatha in Barisal.
|
Posted on 03 December 2001