Locals, cops were in action
It was actually police and locals who had clashed with Biharis on Saturday morning leaving 10 people dead at Kurmitola Bihari camp, revealed a mobile phone footage.
The police had been claiming that the clash was between two groups of the stranded Pakistanis.
When asked for comments, Officer-in-Charge Syed Ziauzzaman of Pallabi Police Station yesterday told The Daily Star over the phone that initially it was a clash between two Bihari groups but non-residents of the camp were drawn into it after one of them was attacked.
Yesterday, eyewitnesses told Detective Branch (DB) of Police and journalists how Bihari homes were set ablaze in the presence of police. The fire killed nine members of a family.
Locals also claimed that some of the police personnel on that day had actually spurred the locals on by crying out “burn everything down”.
The DB personnel visited the spot in Mirpur yesterday after six cases filed in connection with the incident were handed over to them for investigation.
Senior Assistant Commissioner Towhidul Rahman of DB tried to pacify the angry residents of the camp assuring them of an impartial investigation.
The Biharis also alleged that local ruling party lawmaker Illias Mollah had instigated the “attack” since they did not comply with his demand for illegal electric connections to a nearby slum.
Meanwhile, around 300 Biharis staged demonstrations yesterday blocking a road in Kurmitola area from 8:00am to 4:00pm to protest the killing of 10 people of their community.
They also demanded punishment for the ruling party men who they alleged were involved in the clash and arson.
Drenched in rain, protester Salma Begum told The Daily Star, "There is no one to look after us. Our sons are on the run to avoid arrest and there is no one to provide us with food. Our people have died, but ironically it is our people who are behind bars."
Another group of demonstrators were locked in a clash with transport workers at Mirpur-11 around 1:45pm and vandalised at least six vehicles. One person was injured.
Ziauzzaman said no one was detained in this connection.
Ruling party MP Jahangir Kabir Nanak yesterday exchanged views with Bihari leaders of Mohammadpur Geneva camp.
He said a vested group was trying to put the government in trouble creating chaos. "The Biharis are also showing off their strength,” he said.
The residents of Mohammadpur Bihari Camp had been observing hunger strike demanding better security, compensation for the affected families, immediate release of arrested Biharis, proper investigation into the incident, and arrest of lawmaker Ilias Mollah and Jubo League activists involved in the incident.
At least nine members of a family were burnt to death when eight Bihari homes at Kurmitola camp in the city's Mirpur area were torched. Another person injured with rubber-bullet pellet died in hospital the same day.
The brawl over setting off firecrackers during Fazr prayers led to the clash and arson Saturday morning.
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