Attacks in Chowmuhani pre-planned: Parliament Whip
The government is committed to identify and punish the individuals involved with the attacks, said Abu Sayeed Al Mahmood Swapon
The attacks on temples at Chowmuhani in Noakhali were not isolated incidents but planned to provoke sectarian violence in the country, said Abu Sayeed Al Mahmood Swapon, a whip of the national parliament and organising secretary of Bangladesh Awami League.
The attacks were perpetrated by an ill-motivated group of fanatics to disrupt the country's communal harmony, Swapon said on Saturday after inspecting the damaged temples at Chowmuhani in Noakhali's Begumganj Upazila.
He said the government is committed to identify and punish the individuals involved with the attacks to ensure a safer environment in the country for all faiths.
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Anwar Hossain, deputy inspector general (DIG), Chattogram Range, was present during the inspection. He said some 48 people have been arrested so far after Friday's incident.
"We will file individual cases for each incident. We have also asked all the victims to file complaints," he added.
Additional police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members have been deployed in Chowmuhani to keep the situation stable.
Earlier on Friday night, the Upazila administration issued section 144 in Chowmuhani which will remain active from 6 am to 6 pm. No local vehicles can ply on the road during these hours but long-haul vehicles have been kept out of the ban.
Meanwhile, the body of Pranto Chandra Das, 20, was recovered from a pond near the Chowmuhani International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple early Saturday morning. Locals claimed Pranto was beaten to death during the attacks on Friday and was then thrown into the pond.
Later, the district's Hindu community defied the ongoing Section 144 and protested on the Noakhali-Feni Highway seeking justice for the attacks and murders.
Earlier on Friday, an unconscious 42-year-old man named Jaitun Kumar Saha was rescued from the Chowmuhani market area who died later, this happened when a group of mullahs brought out a procession protesting the reported desecration of the Holy Quran in Cumilla.
The mob attacked several temples located around the market, carried out vandalism, and set fire to various establishments of the temples. They also vandalised some shops and business facilities in the market.
Some 30 locals, including law enforcers, were injured during the attacks.
