HR group terms it premeditated

Odhikar, a human rights organisation, yesterday released a report on Banskhali killings on the basis of its discussion with the relatives of the victims, local people and police.

The report termed the killings a planned attack instead of a case of robbery.

Quoting the relatives of the victims, the Odhikar report said local Hindus were taking to the town, fearing any untoward incident.

It also said police was informed of the incident at 6:00am but they showed up at 9:00am.

"Police probe into the incident would not reveal the facts, as police have taken it as a case of robbery," the report noted.

"The pace of investigation may slow down due to the Eid vacation and closure of newspapers," the report said quoting the relatives.

A chairman of the adjacent Union Parished had been pressing Tejendra Shil to sell his land properties and house, it alleged.

Beside the locals' demand of transferring the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police, Odhikar demanded judicial investigation to unearth the real cause behind the killings.