After the brutal murder of Hindu school girl Mukti Rani Barman by stalker Kawser Mia in broad daylight on her way home from school, Bangladesh’s northern district of Netrokona was again in the news for an attack on a Hindu family.
A local influential person has been accused of assaulting members of a Hindu family in the district’s Khaliajuri sub-district. The victim Hindu family claimed that the attack was carried out to evict them from their homes and to occupy their land illegally, popular bilingual news website of Bangladesh, Bdnews24.com has reported.
According to the report, the Hindu family complained to the police that the attack took place on Monday night. Injured Subhash Barman, Subendra Barman, Sumitra Rani Barman, Brishti Rani Barman and Reena Rani Barman have been admitted to the sub-district health complex. Sub-Inspector (SI) of Khaliajuri Police Station, Akikur Islam said that a complaint was filed on behalf of the family on Tuesday evening.
The Hindu family alleged that only a few Hindu families live in the village. Local strongman Habibur Rahman and his son Mohammad Rokunuzzan want to evict the Hindu families and take possession of their land illegally. Accused land shark father-son duo had been harassing the members of the Barman family for quite some time. It is mentioned in the complaint that the duo often threw stones at the victim’s house at night in order to frighten them.
The family members told the news website that on Monday night around 8 o’clock when the accused were pelting stones on their house, the victims protested against it. Then accused Rokunuzzaman with his accomplices attacked the Hindu family with sharp weapons. As a result, 5 members of the Hindu family were injured. Locals rescued and admitted them to hospital. Medical Officer Surojit Roy told the news website that the injured are being treated and are currently out of danger.
Local Union Council Chairman Abul Kalam Azad claimed that after receiving the news of the attack, he went to the hospital at night and inquired about their (victims) proper treatment. The attack is being ‘investigated’, the chairman added.