5 lands in jail over attack on Hindu houses in Rangpur

A Rangpur court yesterday sent five people to jail in a case filed over the attacks on Hindu houses, vandalism, and looting of valuables in Rangpur's Gangachara upazila.

Rangpur Judicial Magistrate Court passed the order after police produced them before the court in the afternoon, said Kishoreganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Ashraful Islam.

The accused are Yasin Ali, 25, Swadhin Mia, 28, Ashraful Islam, 28, Atiqur Rahman Khan, 30, and Saddam Hossain Selim, 22, of neighbouring Magura village under Nilphamari's Kishoreganj upazila, said police.

Members of joint forces arrested them in a drive from their houses early yesterday, said OC Ashraful.

Earlier on Tuesday night, Rabindra Nath Roy, one of the victims, filed a case of vandalism and looting with Gangachara Model Police Station, accusing 1,200 unidentified individuals.

"Five of my cattle, cash, and gold ornaments have been looted. I have incurred a loss of around Tk 20 lakh," he told The Daily Star.

The attack on the Hindu community at Aldadpur Balapara village of Betgari union took place in two phases -- first on Saturday night and again on Sunday afternoon -- by people protesting a Facebook post allegedly made by a local teenager, which "hurt religious sentiments".

Before the first round of attacks, a local 17-year-old teenager was arrested on Saturday night in a case filed under the Cyber Security Act. He was later produced before a court and subsequently sent to a juvenile correctional centre on Sunday.

Meanwhile, a team of Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad visited the spot on Tuesday, spoke to the victims, and demanded punishment for the attackers.