Houses, shops of Hindus rebuilt at Kornai
Houses, shops of Hindus rebuilt at Kornai
Forty-nine repaired and reconstructed shops and houses of Hindus, damaged and torched by Jamaat-Shibir and BNP men at Kornai village under Sadar upazila on the election day on January 5, were handed over to the owners yesterday.
BGB members reconstructed and repaired the shops and houses on instructions of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Lt Col Fazle Kader, commanding officer of Dinajpur-2 Battalion, handed over the shops and houses to the affected owners at noon.
The BGB official said they started repairing and rebuilding the shops and houses at the village on instructions of the prime minister on January 12 and completed in 28 days.
BGB members will stay along with police at the camp set up at the village to ensure security of the villagers and repair and rebuild the rest of the houses, he added.
The affected villagers expressed their gratitude to the prime minister and BGB members for rebuilding and repairing their damaged shops and houses. They also demanded punishment to the culprits, who vandalised and set their houses and shops afire.
Susanta Chandra Shil, a salon owner at Kornai Bazar thanked the BGB personnel for repairing his shop. He urged the government to take effective measures to ensure their security.
Around 1,500 to 2000 Jamaat-Shibir and BNP men attacked the houses and shops of Hindus at Kornai village on January 5 for casting votes, ignoring the polls boycott call of the BNP-led alliance. They vandalised and looted at least 150 houses and 43 shops and set some of them afire.
Three cases were filed with Sadar Police station on the night of January 5, accusing 60 named and over 600 unnamed Jamaat-Shibir and BNP men. Police have so far arrested 54 of the accused.