In another shameful act of religious extremism, a mob clad in Islamic attireโwidely known as Touhidi Janataโvandalised Jibon Mahal, looted valuables and torched several buildings, including a Darbar Sharif and a mosque, at the picnic spot in Birol of Dinajpur on Thursday in a preplanned manner, alleging anti-Islamic activities.
The district administration and the police have made statements in favour of the attackers while claiming that the mob was too large for them to control. The deputy commissioner, Md Rafiqul Islam, and Superintendent of Police Maruf Hossain also blamed the picnic spot authorities for resisting the attackers.
At least 12 people, including journalists, have been injured in the mayhem.
The SP said that they had allowed the Touhidi Janata to hold a procession near the park at Kanchon More Bazar, but they โstormed the facility after being attacked.โ
The DC said that he had anticipated trouble 10-15 days ago and instructed the local UNO and OC to prevent it. But they failed to act accordingly.
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The owner of the popular holiday destination, Dr Anwar Hossain Jibon Chowdhury, a former member of parliament, told the media that the army and the police did not show up to protect his property even though he had informed them a day before the attack. He claimed that he had incurred a loss of around Tk3-4 crore.
The radical Islamists started gathering outside the park around 2pm and then launched the attack. They destroyed statues, rides, and other installations, looted cash and furniture, due to the negligence of the police force and the Bangladesh Army personnel, who enjoy magistracy powers.
One of the attackers, Maulana Hafizur Rahman, said: “Under the leadership of Jibon Chowdhury, anti-social activities and anti-Islamic activities have been going on in the Jibon Mahal and the Darbar Sharif for a long time. We only went to protest peacefully. But the terrorists he unleashed injured seven of us.”
During the looting, the Islamists blocked the Dinajpur-Bochaganj road for hours, demanding the arrest of the park’s owner. They finally withdrew the blockade in the evening after the administration assured action against Dr Anwar.
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The daily Prothom Alo reported that on August 17, the district administration conducted a mobile court on charges of anti-social activities in the park. In the operation, two women and five men were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, despite being adults, and the owner was fined Tk1 lakh.
Following the raid, the radical Islamists of the area, backed by Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefazat-e-Islam and National Citizen Party, declared a protest rally after Zohr prayers on Thursday. The park authorities also announced a protest program in the afternoon to protest against the โpropaganda and conspiracyโ against the owner.
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