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Villagers see Rangpur arson as persecution

Anwar Ali Ami Rafique Sarker From Rangpur
Monday's robbery and arson attack by BNP-linked mobsters on 22 houses at Adam Sarkarpara village under Peergachha upazila in the district was part of a three-year-long persecution, this time aimed at evicting six Hindu families from their ancestral homesteads, the villagers said yesterday.
Die reluctance and inactivity of police to investigate and act on the previous complaints of the minority families about ejection threats by the BNP-aligned thugs further encouraged them to make the attack, the victims alleged.
The families targeted by the raiders are of Suresh Chandra Barman, Shuktu Chandra Barman,
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Bholaram Chandra Barman, Shushil Chandra Barman, Jitendranath Barman and Shachin Chandra Barman.
About 35 men, women and children of those families are now living in the open after some 40 BNP men led by Abdul Zabbar, former vice president of Sawla union BNP, and his family members burnt down their houses last Monday.
"They have been repeatedly threatening to evict us for long and used to throw stones at our houses, steal household goods and disturb our women and girls," Shushil said.
"We complained to police many times, in vain. They never took any step to solve our problem, prompting Zabbar's nephews to boast pointing to the police inaction," he added, with other victims nodding in agreement.
The persecution started in 2001, when Zabbar and his nephews -- Raju, Saju, Taju, Sabu and Lazu -- ousted the families of Nira Shah and Indu Mai from the village.
Nira and Indu had borrowed two maunds of unhusked rice to meet a crisis on condition of paying Tk 500 in return, narrated several Hindu and Muslim villagers.
But, when the time arrived to pay back the loan, Raju demanded Tk 50,000 instead of Tk 500, which they failed to pay and consequently were evicted from their land at the village. Members of the two Hindu families were later forced to flee to India following threats on their lives, the villagers said.
The victims of Monday's attack also alleged, at the end of 2001, Raju tried to rape Shilpi Rani, wife of Sukumar Chandra Barman. But the villagers caught him redhanded. Later Zabbar persuaded the villagers to let Raju go assuring them of justice that was never done.
In 2002, Suren Chandra Barman filed a case accusing Zabbar, Raju and his four brothers of threatening to displace his family. In retaliation, Raju's gang carried out the threat -- torched Suren's home and built a house on his land after driving the family away.
The six people accused by Suren received bail from a Rangpur court on
August 16 last and then launched the raid last Monday, the victims said.
Talking to The Daily Star, Rangpur Superintendent of Police Abdus Salam however denied the allegations of police indifference saying no one had come up with any complaint about ejection threat on the Hindu families.
"And even if there was any previous charge against the accused of arson attack, police have nothing to do, as those cases might now be at the court," observed the district police chief.
He said police on Thursday arrested Raju, the prime accused of the arson, raising the number of arrestees so far in the case to four, out of a total of 21 accused.