Hindu temple, houses torched
Devotees blame cops, who say it's sequel to land dispute
Staff Correspondent
Unidentified people set alight an old Hindu temple and three tin-shed houses belonging to the Hindus in Chittagong Friday night.The fire led to a clash between police and devotees at the temple, leaving a constable bullet-hit. Police sources said fire was set to the temple and the houses as a sequel to a dispute between Sebayet (custodian) Shyamol Sadhu of Gangabari Temple and Jalil Estate at Jaliganj under the port city's Kotwali Police Station. The dispute was over nearly Tk 7 crore worth of land around the temple. A group of young men set the temple ablaze when police were looking for Shyamol Saha, the sources added. But the devotees accused police of setting fire to the temple. They also alleged that police harassed Hindu men and women during a door-to -door search of houses of Hindus in the area to find out Shyamol Sadhu, who went into hiding. The local authorities tried to mediate but the two contending sides refused to accept it, both claiming ownership of the land. Police have cordoned off the temple premises to ward off further violence as tension gripped the area. Jalil Estate sources claimed they purchased the land in 1948 and only a small fraction of it is owned by the temple authorities. Devotees at the temple will explain their views at a press conference today. No case was filed. The officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station recorded a general diary.
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