Ahmadiyya Villages: Gripped by fear, many fleeing homes

People of the Ahmadiyya community in Panchagarh have been spending their days amid fears of further attacks by Islamist outfits.

Many of them, especially the elderly, women and children, have already fled  their houses and taken shelter in mosques, educational institutions or their relatives' homes.

They even took their cattle, household essentials and other valuables with them, villagers said.

Ahmednagar, Shalsheri and Phultala -- the three villages of Panchagarh where members of the Ahmadiyya community live --  have been wearing a deserted look since the attack on Friday.

Visiting the villages yesterday morning, this correspondent saw many homes were empty.

Jahangir Alam, 43, a resident of Ahmednagar, said, "I have sent my parents and my sister to our relatives' house in a neighboring district. I am staying alone at my house."

Md Osman Goni, 46, was seen boarding some of his cattle on a vehicle to shift them to his son-in-law's house in Dinajpur.

"I had four cows. They [the attackers] vandalised my house on Friday and took away two of my cows during the attack. Now, I am sending the remaining two to my relatives' house.

"They looted everything. We don't even have clothes to wear. I am wearing someone else's clothes as we speak."

While the Ahmadiyyas are afraid to move freely, Sadia Afrin, 25, a resident of Ahmednagar, said, "My husband, a sand and stone trader, couldn't go to market since the attack. Now, we don't have enough food to survive. We are in need of government assistance."

Two educational institutions -- Ahmednagar Government Primary School and Ahmednagar High School -- were also attacked.

"Our school's amenities and many documents were set on fire," said Ayesha Siddika, head teacher of the primary school.

Both the schools have been shut since the attack, said Juel Prodhan, head teacher of the high school.

Abdul Latif Miah, officer-in-charge of Panchagarh Police Station, said three cases were filed yesterday and they have already arrested 23 people in connection with the violence.

Of the cases, one was filed by Osman Ali, a member of the Ahmadiyya community, accusing around 400 unnamed people.

The other two cases were filed by police, accusing 27 named and over 6,600 unnamed people, the OC added.

Meanwhile, additional forces were deployed in the areas to maintain law and order.

Contacted, Md Jahurul Islam, Panchagarh deputy commissioner, said, "We have prepared the list of the victims and will start distributing relief  among them tomorrow."

Earlier on Friday, two people were killed and at least 30 others, including seven policemen, injured in a clash between law enforcers and supporters of Islamist organisations demonstrating against the Ahmadiyya community.

The agitators set fire to many houses and four shops belonging to the members of the community. They also attacked a local police station, vehicles of law enforcers and a traffic police office.

The Ahmadiyyas claimed that some 150 houses were looted and vandalised before being torched.

Leaders and activists of several Islamist organisations, including the Islamic Andolon Bangladesh, were staging demonstrations since Thursday, demanding cancellation of Jalsa Salana, an annual gathering of the Ahmadiyya community.

Due to the violence, the programme had to be postponed.

Meanwhile, Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan, also a lawmaker of Panchagarh-2 and president of the district AL, at a party programme in the district town yesterday, said Jamaat-Shibir men carried out the attack to destabilise the country.

On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami in a statement demanded that the government declare the Ahmadiyyas "non-Muslim".

NHRC STATEMENT

The National Human Rights Commission in a statement yesterday termed the attacks on the Ahmadiyyas "abominable" and demanded punishment to the attackers.

It also directed Panchagarh deputy commissioner to investigate whether law enforcers were negligent in their duties during the violence and asked the district superintendent of police to take effective measures to prevent further attacks.