A top leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League yesterday came down heavily on the leaders of the ruling Awami League for their silence over Sunamganj mayhem.

Sanjit Chandra Das, president of Dhaka University unit BCL, also criticised the district administration alleging that the authorities did not take any effective measures to resist the attack.

"No Awami League leader has so far delivered any speech protesting the incident of Shalla [upazila in Sunamganj]. Have communal people entered the Awami League?" Sanjit asked.

"I am worried that no BCL activist of Sunamganj and Shalla upazila units has protested the incident."

Sanjit came up with the speech while addressing a rally organised by the BCL's DU unit on the university campus yesterday afternoon to protest the attack on minorities.

"Minority people of Shalla could earlier sense that the attack might be launched on them. Why did the administration not take any effective measures to resist the attack despite knowing it? Should we assume that communal people have entered the administration?" the BCL leaders questioned.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, several hundred supporters of Hefajat-e Islam attacked, vandalised, and looted at least 75 Hindu houses in Sunamganj's Noagaon village over a Facebook post criticising a Hefajat leader's statement.

Meanwhile, a case was filed in connection with the violence around 4:30pm yesterday, close to 30 hours after the incident.

But none was arrested as of 8:30pm last night when this report was filed, said police.

Contacted, Shalla Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Nazmul Haque said some 70 named and 630 unnamed persons have been made accused in the case.

Without disclosing the identity of the plaintiff, the OC said, one of the victims has filed the case.

Although additional law enforcers have been deployed in the area to avoid any further untoward incident, people of the minority communities are still in a panic.

"We are afraid as no attackers have so far been arrested. We want justice," said Anil Chandra Das, a freedom fighter and resident of the village.

"The role of administration and law enforcement agencies is suspicious to us as none has been arrested till now," said advocate Bishwajit Chakraborty, general secretary of the district unit Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council.

Rab Director General Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun visited the spot and assured victims to take legal actions against the attackers.

Contacted, Deputy Commissioner Zahangir Hossain said, "We have taken all necessary measures to ensure security to the villagers, who have already returned home.

"Besides, we will also provide financial assistance to the victims to repair their houses."

Meanwhile, different organisations and people from different walks of life across the country protested the incident and demanded trial of the attackers.

ATTACK WAS PREDICTED

On Monday, Hefajat unit of nearby Derai upazila, organised a rally where the organisation's Ameer Junayed Babunagari and Joint Secretary General Mamunul Haque spoke.

At the rally, Mamunul criticised the celebration of Bangabandhu's birth centenary and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit marking the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence, according to local media reports.

The following day, Jhumon Das Apon, a youth from Noagaon village, made posts on his Facebook wall, slamming Mamunul for trying to create a religious division, police said.

At this, Hefajat supporters became agitated.

Locals of Noagaon village caught Jhumon at a bazar on Tuesday night and handed him over to police. But the tension was prevailing in the area.

Officials of the law enforcement agencies and local administration tried to pacify tension through discussion with local peoples' representatives, influential persons, and Hefajat men that night, said Bibekananda Majumdar, chairman of Habibpur village, whose house was also vandalised.

But on Wednesday morning, around a thousand people gathered on the bank of the Darain river, which is just opposite Noagaon village.

On information, law enforcers and local administration officials rushed to the spot and tried to resist people from crossing the river.

But a large portion of the crowd, with locally made weapons in their hands, crossed the river and started mayhem.

Contacted, Shalla Upazila Nirbahi Officer Al-Muktadir Hossain, Upazila Chairman Chowdhury Abdulla Al Mahmud, and Shalla Police Station's Officer-in-Charge Nazmul Haque gave an almost similar description of the incident.

Contacted,  DC Zahangir Hossain said, "We have not found any negligence in duties of any officials of local administration in this incident.

"Nevertheless, legal action will be taken, if the negligence of any of our officers is found."

On Wednesday, Jhumon Das was produced before a court that sent him to jail.

However, no case has so far been filed against Jhumon till filing the report around 8:30pm last night.

Meanwhile, police filed another case with the same police station in this regard, Mizanur Rahman, superintendent of police in Sunamganj, told The Daily Star.

No further details were disclosed about the case.