‘Please don’t write about us, we still have to live here’
"It was a whimsical attack. The situation is normal now. Everyone lives here in a friendly atmosphere and harmony," said seniors of the Hindu community at Sahapara village of Narail district.
They talked to this correspondent before members of the civil society visited the village after the communal attack carried out on July 15.
When the conversation between civil society representatives and leaders of the Hindu community turned to the identities and motives of the attackers, the latter seemed hesitant. "Please don't write anything that raises enmity. You will go back to Dhaka but we have to live here. And we want to live in peace," they said.
During his visit to the village on Tuesday, this correspondent saw the hint of fear and anxiety still looming over the faces of Sahapara residents.
Though several police officers were guarding them round the clock in different points of the village, the sense of security seemed completely shattered. The trauma was more evident than ever.
A 50-year-old Hindu woman living near Sahapara's Gobinda Temple claimed that life in their village was turning towards normalcy with each passing day.
However, when asked about the whereabouts of her daughters, she replied that her daughters, along with a son-in-law, have not yet returned from their relative's house in another village since the night of the attack.
Residents of the locality said elders of the attacked families returned to the village one or two days after the incident.
However, the younger members are still staying out of the village in fear of another attack. Many of them refused to disclose their names while sharing their experiences.
The mob attacking the village said their religious sentiments were hurt by a Facebook post allegedly made by Akash Saha -- an 18-year-old college student of the village.
This correspondent went to visit Akash's house but saw it abandoned.
His father, mother and younger brother did not return home after the attack, said a relative from the house next door.
Of the nine arrestees accused of the attack, three were from nearby Kumri village and one is from Talmaria.
Asked, UNO Md Azgar Ali said a meeting is being organised to be joined by people of all faiths soon.
Prof Sadika Halim of Dhaka University, one of the members of the civil society entourage, asked the authorities to ensure a safe and peaceful environment in the area during the upcoming Durga Puja.
Other members of the entourage were Samakal's advisory editor Abu Sayed Khan, DU faculty member Khairul Chowdhury, Nagorik Uddyog's Chief Executive Zakir Hossain, Sammilita Samajik Andolan Secretary Saleh Ahmed, Dipayan Khisa and Journalist Nazrul Kabir.
On July 15, Hindu households came under attack in Sahapara village of Narail's Lohagara upazila. At least 11 homes, five temples and around 20 shops were vandalised or burnt down.
Later, police filed a case accusing some 200 to 250 unnamed attackers but could only arrest eight of them till yesterday.
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