Attack on Nasirnagar Hindus: Police arrest 2 associates of 'mastermind'

Police yesterday arrested two men over their suspected involvement in the October 30 attack on the Hindus in Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar.

The arrestees are Uttam Kumar Das, 25, personal assistant to Haripur Union Parishad Chairman Dewan Atikur Rahman Akhi, and Manaranjan Devnath, 40, a secretary at the UP.

Abu Jafar, officer-in-charge of Nasirnagar Police Station, claimed that during their interrogation, the arrestees admitted the UP chairman's involvement in the incident.

Though locals say Akhi was the “mastermind” behind the attack, he is still absconding.

“We'll interrogate them [the arrestees] further to trace Akhi,” said the OC.

A day before the attack, police arrested Rasraj Das, a local fisherman, for “hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslims” through a Facebook post.

However, investigators later cleared him of the charge. But he is still languishing in jail.

Today, the court is scheduled to hear his bail prayer.

Mobs, including religious zealots and local goons, vandalised and looted over 100 houses of Hindus and temples in Nasirnagar upazila during the three-hour mayhem on October 30 following the Facebook post.

Meanwhile, sources say investigators have already submitted to the court the forensic reports on the computer and cell phone collected as evidence in the case filed against Rasraj.

Another report, submitted to the court, says the post was not uploaded from Rasraj's cell phone, added the sources.