Houses, temples torched over land dispute

Temples and houses of Hindus were vandalised and torched over a land dispute at Raghunathpur village in Parbatipur upazila of the district on Eid Day.

Locals and police said there had been a long-standing dispute between Ashok Chandra Joy and Mojahar Ali of the village over the ownership of 13 decimals of land.

On Friday, Mojahar along with his hired workers went to the land to plant paddy seedlings, but family members of Ashok foiled the bid.

The two rival groups then locked in a clash that left at least 10 people from both sides injured. 

As a sequel to Friday's incident, the supporters of Mojahar on Saturday night vandalised and torched seven houses and three temples--Vishwakarma temple, Kali temple and Durga temple at the village.  

Being informed, firefighters from Badarganj upazila headquarters of Rangpur rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire.

The idols at a nearby temple at the village were also vandalised by the criminals the same night. PHOTO: STAR

Seeking anonymity, an official of the local administration told this correspondent that the attack was pre-planned.

Mahmudul Alam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Parbatipur Police Station, said Ashok Kumar Roy and Dalim Kumar Roy filed two cases with the police station on Sunday, accusing Mojahar and 40 others.

Police have so far arrested two people--Mojahar Ali, 67, and Jakir Hossain--of the village. They are raiding different areas to arrest the rest 0f the accused, the OC added.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Meer Khairul Alam and Police Superintendent Ruhul Amin visited the spot soon after the incident.

Police have been deployed at the village to avert any further incident.