Locals chase away agitators looking to vandalise houses of AL leaders in Savar

Locals in Savar chased away a group of agitators who sought to demolish the houses of two Awami League leaders today (6 February).

Some of the agitators were beaten up by the locals, our correspondent reports.

The incident took place at around 6:00pm in the Hemayetpur area when the agitators tried to break into the houses of two brothers Manjurul Alam Rajib, who is the former Savar Upazila Parishad chairman and Upazila Awami League general secretary, and Fakhrul Alam Samar, and former Tetuljhora Union Parishad chairman and Upazila Awami League joint secretary.

They have been in hiding since the fall of the Awami League government in the face of a student-people mass uprising on 5 August last year. 

In the evening, a group of 25-30 wearing masks arrived in front of Rajib's residence in Hemayetpur with sticks, broke the gate and entered and started vandalising the house, said locals.

During this time, those participating in the vandalism chanted various slogans against the fugitive AL leaders and also called on locals through hand microphones to participate.

Within minutes, hundreds gathered around the residence, but instead of partaking in the vandalism, they fired on the agitators, forcing them to flee.

Speaking to The Business Standard, an agitator, who participated in the vandalism, said on condition of anonymity that their "programme was called so that there would be no Awami League allies or their hideouts in Savar".

"With that aim, 70-80 of us went to Rajib's house and stood there. But Rajib and Samar's allies attacked us. We did not know that their allies were stationed there too. Some of us were injured," the agitator alleged.

He, however, refused to disclose the names of the injured.

A local said, "What have they [agitators] done for the country to earn the right to set houses on fire? If they torch the house, the fire will spread in the whole locality. We will not let that happen."