Durga Puja
No doubt govt behind communal violence: Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday alleged that there is no doubt that the government incited the recent communal violence to make political gains.
“Let there be no doubt the government carried out the communal incidents through its agents. Awami League tried to make political gains with it,” he said.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion, the BNP leader also said there was surely a political motive behind the communal violence centring Durga Puja. “Those who have been illegally staying in power by force did it to perpetuate their power and win the game in the name of the next election.”
Nari O Shishu Odhikar Forum, a platform of BNP, arranged the programme on communal violence at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU).
Read: Now ‘extreme anarchy’ everywhere: Fakhrul
Fakhrul said their party’s two committees formed over the communal attacks visited the violence-hit areas and carried out an investigation into the incidents. “We’ve no doubt that the government is solely responsible for the violence.”
He also said the government carried out communal incidents to shift the blame on BNP and thus divert people’s attention to a different direction from the ongoing movement on different issues.
The BNP leader said a ‘mentally imbalanced’ man was used in a planned way to keep the holy Quran at a puja mandap in Cumilla and then Muslims were provoked to indulge in violence by circulating that Islam was attacked and ruined. “Police also opened fire in Hajiganj of Chandpur. So, it’s clear that the government incited the violence.”
He said two Chhatra League leaders--Saikat Mandal and Md Robiul Islam--led the arson attacks on Hindu houses in Rangpur in the presence of police.
Fakhrul said the leaders of Awami League and its associate bodies were involved in all communal incidents under the rule of the current government. “But none was punished and brought under trial. They (AL) want to use communal incidents as their weapons to resist and suppress those who have been in a movement to restore democracy and people’s voting rights.”
He said the country has been facing political instability and violence since 2012 as the government annulled the caretaker government system to cement its power.
“We would like to clearly say that no election can be held in a fair and credible manner under Awami League. Lack of democracy is the main cause behind all the problems in Bangladesh. We must restore democracy. Or else, we won’t get rid of the crisis,” the BNP leader said.
Read:Govt out to clear election field: Fakhrul
He said the country’s majority of people now want a change in power. “But the youths should come forward first to bring that change. The political parties must play their role, but the youths will have to work as the vanguard of the political forces.”
He said those who are destroying communal harmony in Bangladesh are working very cleverly to obliterate democracy and keep a party in power permanently. “So, we must have a goal to establish a pro-people government through a credible and acceptable election.”
Stating that their party has been on a movement to restore democracy, he said they are confident about the success as the people of this country never got defeated in the past.
“We believe we’ll be able to reach our target of building a democratic society and state through our movement and struggle by uniting people. We’ll surely turn victorious,” he added.
Quran desecration: Remand for Iqbal, 3 others extended by 5 days
Iqbal Hossain and three others accused in an alleged case of desecration of Quran at a temporary Puja site in Cumilla's Nanuwar Dighir Par have been remanded for a further five days, allowing police to further quiz them.
Cumilla Senior Judicial Magistrate Farhana Sultana granted the remand Friday afternoon after police applied for a seven-day remand in the case of hurting religious sentiments.
Mohammad Rezwan, police super of Cumilla Criminal Investigation Department (CID), confirmed the development to UNB.
Iqbal and three others – Ekram, who called 999 after the incident, and Daroga Bari shrine caretakers Humayun Kabir and Faisal – need to be questioned further as they have started disclosing facts, Rezwan said.
The previous seven-day remand ended Friday.
Police handed over the Quran desecration case against Iqbal Hossain and three others to the CID on October 24.
Read: Quran desecration case against Iqbal, 3 others transferred to CID
The instruction came from the Police Headquarters, Rezwan said.
"Also, the law enforcers took Iqbal to the Daroga Bari Mazar Mosque pond at night. At 11pm the divers found the mace which went missing from Nanuar Dighi puja site in Cumilla city," Parimal Das, inspector of Cumilla Detective Branch of Police, said.
In footage of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, Iqbal could be seen taking the Quran from a local mosque and entering a Durga Puja site. He is later seen walking away with a mace, taken from an idol of Lord Hanuman.
HC orders judicial probe into attacks on Hindus in 6 districts
The High Court on Thursday ordered a judicial inquiry into the vandalism, arson attacks on Hindu community people during their Durga Puja in six districts of the country.
The six districts are Cumilla, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni, Chattogram and Rangpur.
The court directed the judicial magistrates of the six districts to submit a report within 60 days.
The HC bench of Md Mojibur Rahman Miah and Md Kamrul Hossain Molla passed the order with a rule during the hearing on a writ filed in this regard.
also read: Communal attacks: Writ petition seeks judicial inquiry
On October 21, Supreme Court lawyers Anup Kumar Shaha and Mintu Chandra Das filed the writ petition.
The court issued the rule seeking explanation why the inactivity and failure of the authorities concerned in protecting puja pandals, temples, houses, lives and property of the Hindu community during those attacks will not be considered illegal and why a directive should not be given to ensure the safety of the Hindu community members.
Twenty-one people, including secretaries to the Home, Law, Religious Affairs Ministries , Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Chairman, Deputy Commissioners and Police Superintendents of the six districts were made respondents to the rule.
Barrister Jyotiromoy Barua appeared for the petitioner’s side during the hearing while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin and Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed stood for the state.
Also read: Communal violence: Citizens demand exemplary punishment for perpetrators
During the hearing, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin said in the writ petition the state and local administrations have been directly blamed for failure during the attacks on Hindu community.
“We demand the removal of those words from the petition as the state is not sitting idle. Some miscreants involved in the attacks in Cumilla and Rangpur have been arrested,” he said.
Meanwhile, barrister Jyotirmoy Barua said as per the Constitution, citizens have the right to life, property, free movement and freedom of practicing religious rituals but the victims did not get any support from the local administrations during these communal attacks.
The failure of the local administrations has been proved with the vandalism and arson attacks on the houses and temples of Hindus, he said.
Quran desecration case against Iqbal, 3 others transferred to CID
Police handed over the Quran desecration case against Iqbal Hossain and three others to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Sunday.
The instruction came from the Police Headquarters, Mohammad Rezwan, police super of Cumilla CID, told UNB.
"Also, the law enforcers took Iqbal to the Daroga Bari Mazar Mosque pond at night. At 11pm the divers found the mace which went missing from Nanuar Dighi puja site in Cumilla city," Parimal Das, inspector of Cumilla Detective Branch of Police, told UNB.
In footage of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, Iqbal could be seen taking the Quran from a local mosque and entering a Durga Puja site. He is later seen walking away with a mace, taken from an idol of Lord Hanuman.
Read: Iqbal, the prime suspect in Bangladesh communal violence, brought to Cumilla
Man suspected of being Cumilla's Iqbal held from Cox's Bazar
Police Thursday night held a man suspecting him to be Iqbal Hossain, who was identified earlier as the one who kept a copy of the Quran at a Durga Puja venue in Cumilla, drawing accusations of desecrating the Quran hurled at the Hindu community and triggering communal tension and violence across the country.
"He was detained from the Cox's Bazar sea beach at around 10:30pm and was sent to Cumilla right away," Rafiqul Islam, Cox's Bazar additional superintendent of police, told UNB.
"Cumilla police will confirm if the detainee is the key suspect Iqbal," he added.
Police identified Iqbal, the prime suspect of the Cumilla puja venue incident, Wednesday after scrutinising the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.
Read: Provocation perhaps there behind Cumilla incident: Home Minister
He is believed to have placed the holy Quran inside Nanuar Dighi Par puja mandap in Cumilla city in the early hours of October 13, which led to attacks on Durga Puja venues across the country recently.
9 arrested over communal attacks in Noakhali
Law enforcement agencies have arrested nine people for their alleged involvement in the recent communal attacks on Hindu temples, idols and properties during the Durga Puja celebrations at Chowmuhani in Noakhali's Begumganj upazila.
Md Nizam Uddin, 32, Md Russell, 36, Abdul Motaleb Bablu alias Bablu, 47, Md Shahadat Hossain, 34, Golam Kibria Sumon, 32, Anwarul Azim, 40, of Begumganj upazila, were arrested by Rab.
Khandaker Md Shamim Hossain, Rab-11 company commander in a press release issued on Wednesday said they arrested the accused from different parts of Begumganj on Tuesday.
The Rab official said they arrested them after identifying through CCTV footages from the spots.
Read: Stay alert against communal forces, says Quader
The arrested have been handed over to the police in 4 cases filed with Begumganj Model Police Station, said Rab.
Meanwhile, the police arrested three people after seeing video footage of protests and attacks at different places including Puja Mandapas in Chowmuhani Bazar of Begumganj Upazila.
District Superintendent of Police Mohammad Shahidul Islam PPM confirmed this on Wednesday noon.
He added that a total of 80 people have been arrested in this regard.
Read: No tolerance for communal attacks: Quader
On Friday, some miscreants in the Chowmuhani Bazar area vandalized and carried out arson attacks on puja mandaps, Hindu temples and some shops.
To keep the situation under control, additional troops of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Rapid Action battalion (Rab), armed police and other law enforcement agencies were deployed in the area.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shamsun Nahar said the situation in the area is peaceful after the imposition of section 144.
Cumilla incident aimed at destroying communal harmony: Home Minister
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Sunday said the Cumilla incident was planned for destroying the communal harmony of the country.
“It appears to us that it was a motivated act instigated by a vested group,” said the minister while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.
He also smelled provocations by ‘a third party’ in the sporadic violence in the country over Durga Puja.
Read:Several identified, suspected instigators held over Cumilla incident: Home Minister
Asked about the reason behind the Cumilla incident, the minister said, “We’ll make it public once we get all the evidence and those who were involved in it will be given exemplary punishment.”
“Not only in Cumilla, attempts were also made to destabilize the country through communal violence in Ramu and Nasirnagar,” he said.
“The people of Bangladesh are religious but, not fanatic. We never allowed militancy and terrorism on the soil of Bangladesh. We contained militancy and terrorism through united efforts,” said Asaduzzaman.
Read:Don’t hide drug addiction in family, seek early medical treatment: Home Minister
Soon after the Cumilla incident, four lives were lost at Hajiganj in Chandpur and some policemen were also injured, he said, adding some small incidents also occurred in Noakhali, Cox’s Bazar and Feni districts.
“No incident has been reported since Saturday night. Our security forces are working with patience and we work on intelligence information. Those who are trying to destroy communal peace will not succeed,” said the minister.
Regarding BNP’s allegation over government’s involvement in Cumilla incident, the minister said these statements are not based on facts as those are motivated ones.
Goddess Durga returns to ‘Kailash’
Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengali Hindus, has come to an end on Friday with the immersion of the Goddess Durga’s idols across the country in tight security.
According to the beliefs of the Hindus, the goddess Durga has returned to her husband's house at Kailash in Devaloy (heaven) through immersion.
Durga Puja to end with goddess’ immersion on Bijoya Dashami today
Durga Puja, the biggest Hindu festival, will come to an end Friday with the immersion of the Goddess Durga’s idols across the country.
Devotees will throng Puja mandaps to celebrate Bijoya Dashami, the last day of the festival, recite the mantras, offer flowers to the goddess Durga and pray for her blessings.
The mandaps across the country have been decorated with beautiful idols, showcasing the goddess in all her glory.
Bijoya Dashami is a special ceremony to reaffirm peace and good relations among people.
READ: Messages of Durga Puja Festival: What can we learn from Goddess Durga?
On this day, Hindu families visit each other to share sweetmeats.
As part of the main rituals of Dashami Puja celebrations, female devotees will give vermilion at the feet of Durga at mandaps and temples across the city, which is part of the traditional ‘Shidur Khela’. The ritual follows Hindu women putting the vermilion on each other aspiring for prosperity in lives, as a tribute to the power of Devi Durga.
This year, the religious festival is being celebrated at some 32,118 puja mandaps throughout the country, including the capital.
In the capital, thousands of people are set to throng the Buriganga River today to observe the final phase of the festival -- the immersion of the goddess Durga.
Devotees in their tearful eyes will bid farewell to the mother deity and her children – Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh – through the immersion of their idols in the water wishing Durga’s return next year.
The five-day festival started on October 11 with the incarnation (Bodhon) of the Goddess Durga marking Sashthi amid strict security measures across the country.
READ: Durga Puja symbolises national unity in Bangladesh: State Minister for Religious Affairs
Durga Puja, the annual Hindu festival also known as Sharadiya (autumnal) DurgaUtsab, is the worship of "Shakti" [divine force] embodied in goddess Durga. It symbolises the battle between good and evil where the dark forces eventually succumb to the divine.
India recognises Bangladesh's prompt steps to keep Puja festival peaceful
India has acknowledged the "prompt" steps from the government of Bangladesh with additional deployment of security forces following the reports of vandalism in some Hindu temples and Durga Puja venues.
"We note that the government of Bangladesh has reacted promptly to ensure the control of the situation, including the deployment of law enforcement machinery," Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday.
He said they also understand that the ongoing festive celebrations of Durga Puja continue in Bangladesh with the support of government agencies and of course, a large majority of the public.
The Indian High Commission in Dhaka as well as its Missions outside Dhaka are in close contact with the authorities in Dhaka and at local levels over the matter, Bagchi said.
Read: Hasina calls for hunting down culprits of Cumilla incident
The Spokesperson said they have seen some "disturbing reports of untoward incidents" involving attacks on religious gatherings in Bangladesh.
While visiting Puja venue at Karwan Bazar Media Para, both police and members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were seen while both Muslims and Hindus were seen at the venue together.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said anyone involved in the attacks on Hindu temples and Durga Puja venues in Cumilla will not be spared.
Also read: Cumilla incident: DIG says offenders to be hunted down
"The incidents in Cumilla are being thoroughly investigated. Nobody will be spared. It doesn't matter which religion they belong to. They’ll be hunted down and punished," she said on Thursday.