Communal attacks: BNP forms two committees

BNP has formed two committees for what it said standing beside the victims of recent communal attacks and investigating the incidents for digging out facts.

BNP standing committee at a virtual meeting on Sunday formed the committees, said a press release signed by party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday.

He said one of the committees was formed headed by BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy while another was led by Supreme Court Bar Association secretary Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal.

Fakhrul said the Gayeshwar-led committee will visit the violence-affected temples and puja mandaps in different areas of the country and solace the victims on behalf of BNP.

He said the other committee, led by Kazal, will look into the incidents of vandalism and arson attacks for find out the facts.

"The two committees will visit the affected areas very soon and submit a report to the party high-command. The decision was taken at our standing committee meeting. They will start their work in a day or two," Fakhrul said.

He said the meeting expressed deep concern over the reported desecration of the Holy Quran during the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community and subsequent attacks on puja mandaps, vandalism and sectarian violence at the ''patronage'' of the ruling party in different areas, including Cumilla, Chandpur, Noakhali and Chattogram.

Fakhrul said their standing committee thinks that the government itself has created such a communal crisis in the country to divert public attention to a different direction from the existing political crisis.

The BNP leader said they think the situation became complicated in each case due to the failure of law enforcement agencies to take effective action.

He said their standing committee urged the government to ensure the religious freedom of the Hindu community.

Fakhrul said the meeting criticised the government for its 'move' to hide the real offenders by implicating BNP leaders and activists in the cases filed over the sectarian violence without any investigation.

He said the BNP policymakers demanded that the culprits involved in the communal violence be identified immediately through an impartial inquiry and bringing them to justice.

At the same time, he said, they urged all citizens to remain alert and keep the communal harmony of the country intact.

BNP standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Jamiruddin Sircar, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Selima Rahman and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku joined the virtual meeting with party acting chairman Tarique Rahman in the chair.