House ablazed: Ruling party unleash against minorities terror in Rangpur, Bangladesh

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Ruling party cadres unleashed terrors on minorities at Pirghacha, Bangladesh

Minority houses torched and women assaulted

 

 

 

Picture (courtesy HRCBM-Khulna): Humiliated and assaulted women broke into tears

to describe the attack on the community. The irony is that plights of minority

women rarely understood the government or the rights activists in the country.

 

 

Note: HRCBM has sent its Khulna Chapter under the leadership of Mr. Sudangshu

Mallick to provide relief services to the destitute families of Pirgacha,

Rangpur, Bangladesh. The team was later joined by Bangladesh Hindu Buddha Unity

Council to distribute HRCBM's relief materials.

 

 

 

Picture (courtesy HRCBM-Khulna): A minority woman stands holding the burned

“bamboo post” where her house once stood at Adam Para, Pirghacha. Since 2000,

thousands of minorities being displaced in the country and some of whom have

completely lost their homesteads at the hand of terrorists. Evidences are

abounds that the ruling party and it’s alliances are treating country’s minority

as second class citizen.

 

Place of occurance: Adam Para, Pirgacha, Rangpur, Bangladesh.

 

Investigation & Relief Service conducted on 17th of September, 2004.

 

Report submitted by Sudangshu Mallick, HRCBM-Khulna, Bangladesh.

 

 

Picture (Courtesy HRCBM-Khulna): Burned to ashes the homesteads of minorities in

Adam para, pirghacha, Rangpur, Bangladesh.

 

Adam Sarker Para is the name of a village under Prighacha thana in Rangpur

district in the region of north Bengal of Bangladesh. A total of 25 minorities'

families live in this locality. In the last august 23, 2004, a group of listed

terrorists unleashed nightmares setting the homestead of the community on fire

and looted the belongings of the household. Seventeen houses of six families

were gutted down within a moment. The rampage went almost unhindered for hours

resulting minority families traumatized and homeless.

 

Since the incident, several days have passed, none of the local NGOs and

government personnel rush to the spot to help the victims. The report of

nightmare published in the daily star news which drew attention of HRCBM chapter

at DFW Texas who then took initiative to rush relief services to the victims. On

order, HRCBM-khulna rushed to the spot to investigate about the matter relief

services to victims followed by required advocacy.

 

 

Picture (courtesy HRCBM-Khulna): Youths of local minority community who lost all

their belongings gather under a shed to wel! come HRCBM who reached Adam para

despite heavy rain. Right: HRCBM vans and pickup entering the village. Left

(bottom), HRCBM volunteers invited police to visit the spot. Right (bottom): two

women sit in despair on the ruins of their home.

 

Background information:

Abdul Jabber of Adam Sarker Para who is known as local leader of ruling BNP

including his five sons Raju, Saju, Sabu, Tajul and Laju was inflicting mental

torture on the members of neighboring minority families for a long time and also

would chagrin the female. They would coerce in different ways and frequently

threatened them without any reason. Considering his BNP’s attitude toward

minorities in the country, Mr. Jabber wanted to evict the local minorities from

their homesteads and grab their lands. Apart from this, cases and counter cases

were filed among the criminals and plaintiffs in the recent past. As a sequel to

this, the minorities' families came under attack from the hoodlums.

 

 

 

 

Picture (Courtesy HRCBM-Khulna): From left, two women sit in despair on the base

where their house once stood. right, a woman finds the shed of the tree to

comfort her little child. left (bottom): Two women who lost all their earthly

belongings seated on the base where their house once stood. A widow along with

others claim lined up for HRCBM relief services.

 

Arson and looting:

 

Members of minorities' families of Adam Para village under Pirgasha thana are

living in panic and insecurity. At around noon on the last 23 August 2004, a

local leader of ruling party along with local hoodlums waged a brutal attacked

against the minority families. The hoodlums of the ruling party rampaged for

hours, looted all the belongings of the poor minorities and continued sexual

assault on the women and girls of the destitute victims. Later, they set most

the houses on fire. Some Muslim neighbors tried to protect those houses but they

were beaten back by the hoodlums. The terrorist group rejoiced in a ruthless

orgy for a while and then left the place. Six families were turned homeless and

fourteen others were severely injured in the heinous attack. Seventeen

homesteads of six families including houses of Shachin, son of Jiten Chandra,

Vhabesh Barman, Shusil Barman and Vola Barman, sons of late Tarini Kanta Barman,

late Keshab Chan! dra Barman's sons Suresh Barman and Shektu

Barman were burned to ashes. The houses, which were burned included bed room,

kitchen and cattle sheds.

 

 

 

Picture (Courtesy HRCBM-Khulna): From left, Women and Children are placed in a

makeshift. Right, a woman and her husband prepare to build their house based on

aids given by HRCBM. Left (bottom): women describing how the hoodlums attacked

them. Right (bottom): The volunteers of HRCBM talking with villagers and

victims.

 

All the materials including paddy, rice, utensils and earthly belongings were

burnt down. The hooligans vandalized also in the houses of Ranajit Kumar Barman,

Ananta Ram Barman, Amalla Barman, Shymal Barman, Ratan Krishna, Sushil

Barman,Tarun Kanti and Surenda Nath. The ruffians looted and destroyed household

items which they got even beheaded their cattle and spoiled the harvested paddy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture (Courtesy HRCBM-Khulna): From left, HRCBM volunteers prepared one truck

load for relief items. right, A joint relief distribution effort of HRCBM and

Bangladesh Hindu Buddha Christian Unity council (BHBCUC). Left (Middle), HRCBM

gets the signature of the victims who received the relief services. Right

(Middle): BHBCUC and HRCBM meet together in a break to discuss strategy to

protect minorities in the locality. Left (bottom): HRCBM's Khulna chapter

secretary Mr. Sudangshu Mallick explaining to the local leaders of BHBCUC and

community about HRCBM's plan to help mankind and how it addresses each situation

uniquely through the services of rights advocacy and humanitarian services.

right (bottom): Leaders of the districts, HRCBM and ! BHBCUC discusses further

on the relief services and how further the victims can be protected.

 

 

The Criminals

 

Abdul Jabbar with his accomplices orchestrated this heinous incident. He was,

for a long time devising machinations to evict the members of minorities

communities from their houses. At long last, he along with his sons Raju, Shaju,

Shabu, Taju, Laju beat Shachin Barman with sticks. Later Abdul Jabbar with a

group of persons numbering 40/45 including his brother Khalek and Abdul Mannan,

Nurul Master, Jalil, Rafiqul, Ajizul, Imdadul, sons of late Azar Ullah poured

kerosene to the houses of victims and put fire to them and looted. In the

vicinity Abdul Jabbar and his sons are known as local BNP leaders. Others also

belong to the ruling party. Among them, one is reported to be a Pakistani

citizen, local people alleged.

 

The occurrence and it's successive situation:

 

During the arson and rampage, local Muslim neighbors tried to help protect

minorities yet failed to save their houses. The terrorists looted all the

paraphernalia of minority households. One of the neighbors got seriously injured

when terrorist tried to snatch away a minority girl. The neighbors latter

informed police who then rushed to the place of occurrence but failed to arrest

anyone immediately. In the mean time, the victims passed their days half-fed and

un-fed under the open sky. Some kind hearted people of the nearby locality gave

a small amount of rice, pulse, clothes to them, which was very meager of what

required.

 

Litigation and role of administration:

 

Mr. Sushil Barman, son of late Tarini Kanta Barman's filed a case on August 23,

2004 with Pirgasha police station describing attacks on them. The case number is

34/227 dated 23-08-04. Sections under which the case was lodged are

147,148,149,447,448, 323,325,307,379, 436,427, 114, and 506 of Cr Proceeding. A

total of 21 persons were accused in the case. The accused are :-

 

1. Abdul Jabbar

 

Father late-Kismat Ullah

 

village- Adam Sarker Para

 

2. Raju, son of Abdul Jabbar, Adam Sarkar Para

 

3. Shaju, son of Abdul Jabbar, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

4. Shabu, son of Abdul Jabbar, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

5. Tajul, son of Abdul Jabbar, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

6. Laju, son of Abdul Jabbar, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

7. Abdul Mannan, son of late Kismat Ullah, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

8. Abdul Khalek, son of late Kismat Ullah, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

9. Mukut, son of Abdul Mannan, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

10. Mamun, son of Abdul Mannan, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

11. Rafikul, son of Abdul Khalek, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

12. Shefaul, son of Abdul Khalek, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

13. Arshadul, son of Abdul Khalek, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

14. Mydul, son of Abdul Khalek, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

15. Lalan, son of Abdul Khalek, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

16. Abdul Jalil, son of Fam Uddin, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

17. Abdul Rauf, son of Ajij, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

18. Mojamel, son of Abdul Haque, Adam Sarkar para.

 

19. Abdul Khalek, son of Shirajul, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

20. Nurul Master, son of late AregUllah, Adam Sarkar Para.

 

21. Ajijul, son of Hamid, Paran.

 

 

 

 

 

Picture (courtesy HRCBM-Khulna): The Relief effort of HRCBM in pictures.

 

Among the persons involved in the incident and accused, police arrested 7

persons during the time to September 2, 2004. The arrested persons are Tajul,

Raju, A.Rouf, A. Khalek, Md. Abu Bakkar, A.Mannan and Azadul. Police said, they

were continuing their efforts to nab the criminal after the incident and police

was deployed round the clock for the security of the victims.

 

Investigating officer of the case Md. Abdul Mazid informed that the brutal

incident was a sequence to prior enmity between the criminals and the

plaintiffs. On the day of occurrence the criminals beat Shachin and Ripan of

plaintiffs's side first. Shichain was admitted into local hospital and Ripan was

giver first aid. During the incident the criminals burnt 16 houses, looted 17

cattle including 4 goats. The damage caused in the incident was to the tune of

Tk. 2 lac which was mentioned in the FIR. But the victims on the other hand

informed that the criminals would swoop on them taking bail from the court. It

was learnt from the plaintiffs that four persons got bail from the high court.

So the members of plaintiffs side are living in jittery and consternation.

 

Note: The release again proves the loophole of Bangladesh judiciary system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture (Courtesy of HRCBM-Khulna): The relief services (a joint effort of HRCBM

and BHBCUC) in pictures.

 

Role-played by HRCBM:

 

A team of HRCBM ( Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities) volunteers

from its Khulna chapter, visited Adam Sharkar Para village under Pirgang thana

in Rangrur district. Leaders of Rangpur district unit Hindu Buddha Christian

Oikya parishad and Puja parishad accompanied the delegation. During the visit,

the team observed the victims are living under the open sky even one week after

the incident. From the victims it was learnt that they were living unfed.

 

HRCBM distributed corrugated sheets to build houses, one month's foodstuffs

including rice, pulse, edible oil, salt, vegetables and sari, lungi among the

victims. Relief of Tk 25000 was distributed among the member of 14 families.

During the time of relief, among others who were present were Bangladesh Hindu

Buddha Christian Oikya parishad's general secretary Dr. Nim Chandra Bhoumick,

Rangpur district unit Puja Udjapan Parishid's general secretary Ajoy Proshad

Babon, Prodip Niogi and prominent freelance journalist Saha Adhir also a human

rights activist.

 

 

 

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