<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Deepali Rani Saha can never forget this Friday night when she watched her house burn down.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>"After one group looted all our valuables, another group came and found our door open. As there was nothing left to loot, they set our home on fire."</div><div><br></div><div>While the looters attacked, the 62-year-old was hiding under the bed in a shed adjacent to the house with her son Gobinda.</div><div><br></div><div>"They could not break in [where we were hiding] as it was locked. They then attacked the temple next door and vandalised the idol."</div><div><br></div><div>Deepali's was among the three homes and dozens of shops that were vandalised or burnt down in Sahapara village in Dighalia union of Narail's Lohagara upazila. </div><div><br></div><div>The attacks were carried out by mobs protesting a Facebook post that reportedly hurt religious sentiments.</div><div><br></div><div>Locals alleged the post was made by Akash Saha, an 18-year-old college student of the village.</div><div><br></div><div>They gathered after Juma prayers and protested in front of the student's house, demanding his arrest.</div><div><br></div><div>As he was missing, the mobs spread to neighbouring Hindu homes -- homes of people who had nothing to do with the Facebook post.</div><div><br></div><div>In the evening, the police detained Akash's father Ashoke Saha to "bring the situation under control", while they prepared to file a case under the Digital Security Act against Akash.</div><div><br></div><div>None of the attackers, however, have been arrested yet.</div><div><br></div><div>Yesterday morning, Deepali stood embracing her eight-month-old granddaughter Rai Saha in front of the charred remains of their home.</div><div><br></div><div>She pointed out how even little Rai's possessions were not spared.</div><div><br></div><div>"Only because the student is Hindu and I [too] am Hindu, my house was burnt down.</div><div><br></div><div>"I don't know how long this threat of violence will haunt us. Who will give us justice? Who will give us security? ... If I were in the house while they set it on fire, I would have died. God saved me. But is this any way to survive? All I have now is the sari on my body."</div><div><br></div><div>Many people from the administration have been coming since yesterday morning and giving assurances of safety, but she is unconvinced.</div><div><br></div><div>"I am not asking for money; I am not asking for help. I am seeking answers -- why was my house set on fire?"</div><div><br></div><div>Her son Gobinda, a betel leaf trader, sat on yard sobbing on the phone, with relatives calling from abroad, as he listed all they had lost.</div><div><br></div><div>His wife Chandra Saha was not home the night of the attack. When she returned yesterday, she stood shell-shocked in front of the carnage.</div><div><br></div><div>"I don't want to stay here with my children. I don't want to be a victim," she said.</div><div><br></div><div>Police have deployed additional forces to ensure security, but locals still feel unsafe.</div><div><br></div><div>After the attack, an eerie and empty silence took over after the 108 Hindu homes in Sahapara village.</div><div><br></div><div>Beauty Rani, a former female member of the reserved seat in Dighalia Union Parishad, said most of the able-bodied people have left the village after the attack.</div><div><br></div><div>"Almost all houses are locked. Only the elders of some families are home. They too are scared."</div><div><br></div><div>Visiting the village, this correspondent came across only two old men in a small house. One was 65-year-old Shibnath Saha, president of the village's Radha-Govinda temple.</div><div><br></div><div>"Police are on guard in the village, but we cannot trust them. After detaining Ashoke on Friday, the officer-in-charge and upazila nirbahi officer told everyone that they were deploying additional forces and that our community would be safe. The attack took place within a few hours."</div><div><br></div><div>Beauty Rani echoed the same. "When we were being attacked, the police were there. They were watching from a distance and no one came to our rescue. The police can no longer be trusted and that is why people are leaving the village."</div><div><br></div><div>Gopal Saha, a fertiliser dealer at Dighalia Bazar, described how he was assaulted by the mobs.</div><div><br></div><div>"I have been doing business in the market for 22 years. The only reason they beat me up was that I was Hindu. The accused boy's house is far away from mine. How is this my fault? … As a Hindu, I don't feel safe in this village anymore."</div><div><br></div><div>Azgar Ali, union parishad member at Dighalia, said, "I went to the spot and tried to bring the situation under control. Police are examining the evidence to see if a case under the Digital Security Act can be filed against the student.</div><div><br></div><div>"In addition, the government is giving Tk 26,000 to the affected families, with the promise that the houses that were vandalised will be repaired."</div><div><br></div><div>Haran Chandra Pal, inspector (Investigation) of Lohagara Police Station, said legal action will be taken against the attackers, adding that none of them has yet been identified for arrest.</div><div><br></div><div>Protests everywhere</div><div><br></div><div>Rights bodies across the country condemned the communal attack.</div><div><br></div><div>Mashrafe Bin Mortoza, parliamentarian and ex-captain of the Bangladesh cricket team, who represents Narail, in a Facebook post said, "The Narail I know, the Narail I grew up in -- this is not that Narail."</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, Ain o Salish Kendra in a statement, said, "This is not a new incident. We have seen such attacks before -- these keep repeating because there is no independent investigation and no probe [is done] in due time."</div><div><br></div><div>Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi also issued a statement saying the impunity given to perpetrators of communal violence paves the way for more such attacks.</div><div><br></div><div>Chandra Nath Podder, general secretary of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad and a mathematics professor at Dhaka University, had visited the spot.</div><div><br></div><div>"What kind of people do this? Are we living in a civilised society? I demand a prompt investigation."</div><div><br></div><div>Meanwhile, 21 eminent citizens, including artistes Ramendu Majumdar, Mamunur Rashid, Ferdousi Majumdar, Sara Zaker, M Hamid, and Shimul Yousuf; historians Shahriar Kabir and Muntasir Mamoon; and writers Selina Hossain and Abed Khan, among others, condemned the attack in a statement.</div><div><br></div><div>"Within a month, Narail has seen two communal attacks. The local administration and political elites in the area can barely criticise these attacks, let alone prevent them," they said. - daily star</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>