Are they the real masterminds?
There is no denying the fact that, had the law enforcement officials been more alert and pro-active, most of the attacks on Hindu houses, temples, and business establishments that occurred in various parts of Bangladesh since October 13 might have been prevented. However, the news of several alleged perpetrators of the attacks being arrested is indeed good news. We have always held the view that the attacks were planned, done deliberately with ulterior motives, whatever they might be. No sane person, whether a Muslim or Hindu, would desecrate a holy book, unless it is to inflame passion and generate hostile reaction from the public.
We compliment the law enforcement agencies for the relatively quick arrests, but we must admit that it is difficult to accept that these well-planned attacks were the brainchild of those arrested. We believe that there might be others who have pulled the strings behind the scenes, and Saikat and his accomplice, who were arrested over the Pirganj violence, are but puppets who were acting on the instructions of the architects of those pernicious acts. According to a Rab spokesperson, the Pirganj incident was the result of personal animosity between Saikat and two others—Uzzal Hossen and Paritosh Sarkar. The latter two have also been arrested.
The account provided by Rab is hard to comprehend. We believe the incident was not the result of mutual hostility—it goes much beyond that. What, for example, was the intention of Paritosh to upload a picture that was highly incendiary? Was it beyond his comprehension that such a picture would invite backlash against his own community? It is important to find out why Iqbal, the alleged perpetrator of the Cumilla desecration incident, put a copy of the Quran at the foot of a Hindu deity. Was he acting alone or was he instigated? It is hard to believe the first would be the case.
There have been several arrests made in other places as well. These attacks should not be dismissed as sporadic incidents, or knock-on effects. We believe that a sinister plan is afoot to impair the integrity of Bangladesh, and soil its reputation as a country of communal harmony. It is, therefore, imperative that the responsible agencies identify the main protagonists of the attacks. This is a serious national security issue, and the sooner the facts are unearthed, the better we can be prepared to prevent such assaults on our nation in the future.
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