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Rich Hindu? So extort

His refusal led to attack on Hindus by Jamaat-BNP men in Pabna

M Abul Kalam Azad and Ahmed Humayun Kabi Topu, Pabna
Extortionists, mostly belonging to the BNP and Jamaat, had planned to frame Hindu schoolboy Rajib Saha in Pabna for maligning Islam after his businessman father refused to pay them.
Rajib's father Babul Saha, a leading trader in Bonogram bazaar, has two grocery shops with warehouses. He had been
paying the youths regularly until June when they demandedTk 2 lakh.
On Saturday morning, the youths went to his house looking for Rajib but found only his mother. They then went to Babul's shop.
"Around 9:00am, Manik, Khokon and a few others came to my shop. One of them showed me something on his cellphone and said my son had maligned the Prophet. They asked me to bring my son or face dire consequences," Babul toldThe Daily Staryesterday.
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Babul, who is now under Ataikula police custody for safety, said he did not understand what his son had actually done.
According to locals, Khokon is a supporter of BNP and Manik belongs to Jamaat. Selim Khan, leader of Ataikula union BNP and defeated chairman candidate of union parishad election in 2011, was backing the extortionists.
Sources also said a few Awami League men had links with the youths.
The group chose Saturday as it was the weekly market day at Bonogram in Santhia upazila. It was also the occasion of Kali Puja.
Around 10:00am, some unidentified people started distributing photocopies of what they said was a "Facebook page", claiming Rajib had defamed Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) in a post.
Jamaat-Shibir supporters began agitating around 11:00am. An announcement from the loudspeaker of the bazaar mosque did the rest. Hundreds of people came out clamouring for Rajib's "execution”.
The youths were waiting for this. They and their men attacked Sahapara and Ghoshpara simultaneously, vandalising and looting around 100 houses from around 12:30pm to 3:00pm.
Locals alleged when a mob started to wreck the houses in the two Hindu villages, law enforcers were busy trying to confront agitating mobs blockading the Dhaka-Pabna highway.
Anil Kumar Sarker of Sahapara said a gang of 10 to 12 youths, armed with sticks, stormed his house around 12:30pm. They left hurriedly after vandalism.
"As soon as they left, I phoned Pabna Superintendent of Police Sirajuddin Ahmed and told him what was happening," he said. The SP told him, "Police have been mobilised to tackle the situation."
Anil then rang Deputy Commissioner Ashraf Uddin.
"The DC asked me if I have contacted the SP and when I said yes, he assured me that the SP would take care of the problem."
Around 1:30pm, over 50 unruly people attacked Anil's house again.
"At that time I took refuge in the attic with my family and watched through a crack the men ravaging my already-damaged house. Then they set ablaze the idols inside the family temple, ” he added.
“It was the day of our Kali Puja and the village was in a festive mood. Suddenly all hell broke loose leavingus shaken to the core."
There was no trace of police until 2:30pm when a team of four cops arrived leisurely at Sahapara. "The policemen went around the village and left in about 10 minutes, since then none of the law enforcers have come to see us, "said Anil.
Sukumar Biswas of Ghoshpara said ten to twelve marauding groups, mostly youths, created panic by screaming as they rampaged through the village. "They stole gold ornaments
and cash and destroyed our refrigerator, TV, computer, beds, tables, utensils and what not."
A trail of destruction can be seen throughout the villages.
The areas have maintained communal harmony since the independence despite being dominated by Jamaat-e-Islami, a party historically known for practising communal politics.
Eighty-year-old Bishnu Priya Saha said she was born at Sahapara and lived all her life there but never imagined she would see this day. "Here we, the Hindus and Muslims, are living like brothers and sisters for generations."
Meanwhile, local administration organised a solidarity meeting on the bazaar mosque premises to quell tension and distributed cash, rice and corrugated tin sheets to the victims.
Asked why police failed to protect the Hindu houses, DC Ashraf Uddin claimed forces reached the scene when mob blockaded the road and tried to quell the situation.
OC Rezaul Karim of Ataikula Police Station said they were not informed of the attacks and looting immediately. "My limited force was busy controlling the mob on the highway."
Police arrested Rezaul Karim of Gaurigram after filing a case in the evening against twenty named and more than a hundred unnamed people.
Contacted, BNP leader Selim said his political rivals were bringing false allegation against him.MORE ON PAGE 13