20 Hindu houses torched in Dinajpur

Unidentified miscreants set fire to twenty houses of Hindu community in Bochaganj upazila of Dinajpur early today.

The tin-shed houses of seven families of Hindus and three families of Harijans (professional cleaners) were set on fire in Railway Colony area around 2:30am, our Dinajpur correspondent reports quoting Habibur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Bochaganj Police Station.

Around 60 to 65 people used to live in the houses but no was injured as the residents managed to run to safely, Munir Lal Bashfore, a resident and cleaner in profession, told the correspondent.

Meanwhile, locals caught a youth named Jewel, 23, when he was fleeing the scene after allegedly setting the fire, the OC said.

They alleged that Jewel had been threatening the communities there over a scuffle during this year’s Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Hindu community.

The additional superintendant of police in the district visited the spot, the correspondent said.