Protect minorities or face action

The cabinet committee on law and order yesterday warned of taking tough action against law enforcement agencies if they fail to contain attacks on religious minorities.

The committee observed that attacks on religious minorities and vandalism of Hindu temples across the country put the government in an embarrassing situation, said meeting sources.

"The attacks on the minorities had put the government in an uncomfortable situation," said a meeting source, quoting Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed as saying at the meeting held at the home ministry with Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu in the chair.

The minister also mentioned that an attack on the minorities is a blow to Awami League's secular character, he said.

The committee asked the law enforcement agencies to stay on high alert to stop such incidents and take measures to protect the minorities.

LGRD Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu and top officials of law enforcement agencies were at the meeting.

Sources said the meeting discussed the attacks on the minority community in Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar on October 30.

At the meeting, Asaduzzaman admitted that police had failed to tackle the situation. He, however, at a programme at his ministry on November 3 claimed that there was no police failure in the Nasirnagar incident.

On October 30, a group of religious zealots carried out a synchronised attack on the Hindus in Nasirnagar upazila, vandalised around 100 homes and at least five temples and looted valuables from those places over a Facebook post “hurting Muslims' sentiment”. Before the attack, they attended rallies called by two Islamist groups -- Touhidi Janata and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat.

Asaduzzaman also said the administration should not have given permission for the rallies.

The two-hour mayhem followed the Facebook post from the account of Rasraj Das, a local fisherman. Rasraj, 27, is now in jail in a case filed over the post. Before his arrest and the systematic attack, he claimed that he had nothing to do with the post, but apologised for it anyway.

Four more attacks happened in Nasirnagar despite the presence of members of law enforcement agencies. 

After the Nasirnagar incident, over a dozen incidents of vandalising Hindu temples happened in different parts of the country.

At yesterday's meeting, Tofail said a vested quarter was trying to put the government into trouble before the next parliamentary polls and all will have to remain careful about this.

The meeting also directed law enforcement agencies to increase surveillance to contain criminal activities.

The meeting stressed the need for political initiatives alongside the administrative measures to stop repression of minorities, said meeting insiders.

The committee expressed dissatisfaction over law enforcement agencies as they are yet to arrest one Jahangir, a resident of Haripur in Nasirnagar who played a key role in instigating the people.

At the meeting, police claimed that Jahangir had links with Jamaat-e-Islami.

The meeting also expressed concern over recent rise of violence against children.   

While briefing journalists, Amu alleged that a vested quarter carried out communal attacks across the country to embarrass the government after failing to carry out militant activities.

He said they were alert and those kinds of incidents would not be allowed to happen again.

The mastermind behind the Nasirnagar attack will be arrested, he added.

"There was an attempt to destabilise the country with militant attacks, but Bangladesh has made a turnaround from there, and the situation is now completely normal,” the minister said, adding that foreigners have regained their confidence in the country and therefore, investments and exports have increased.

The minister also said for the last 62 years, the sugarcane field was owned by the Rangpur Sugar Mills authorities and a few land grabbers were using Santals to grab this land.

About the clash in Narsingdi that killed four people on Monday, the minister said followers of an incumbent chairman and a former chairman clashed over establishing supremacy, and those involved in the incident would be punished following an investigation.