Threatened, Hindu villagers pass sleepless nights

Hundreds of people belonging to minority Hindu community at Paulpara in Aria union of Shajahanpur upazila under the district have been passing sleepless nights for over two weeks, following attack and vandalism by extortionists on April 29.

A 'listed' narcotic trader, Morshed, 36, also a resident of nearby Rahimabad village, has made the life of around a hundred Hindu paul (traditional earthenware makers) families miserable through extortion and other crimes for years, locals said.

Recently, they excessively raised the demand for money that the poor villagers refused to meet.

Angered, the criminals equipped with lethal weapons attacked the paul community people, broke their earthenware and other things and tortured them physically on April 29 night, said the victims.

The following day, the villagers blocked Bogra-Dhaka highway with a protest procession and sent memorandum to the deputy commissioner and the upazila nirbahi office concerned, demanding arrest of the criminals.

On May 2, they lodged a case with Shajahanpur Police Station accusing Morshed, his aide Hanjala and four or five other unidentified people.

"We are under threat, especially after the attack and vandalism by the criminal group but police is yet to arrest the accused two weeks after case filing," said complainant Gobinda Chandra Paul, also president of Baroari Temple Committee.

"The villagers at their own initiative have arranged guarding the area overnight. We do not know how long we will be able to stay at the village in such a situation. Some families have already left the village," he added.

Contacted, Officer in Charge of Shajahanpur Police Station Abdul Mannan said the crime happened secretly and after knowing the matter police patrol has been arranged in the area.

"The accused went into hiding on the day of case filing. We arrested a CNG-run three-wheeler driver named Azizul Islam, 37, as he often carried Morshed to different places and is likely to give information about the accused. We have also held another suspect in this connection. Police has continued drives at different locations to arrest the culprits," he said.