Thousands of Muslims attacked a Hindu village in Bangladesh, vandalizing houses and driving locals from their homes.
On the morning of March 17, “several thousand followers of Hefazat leader Mamunul Haque from Kashipur, Nachni, Chandipur and some other Muslim-populated villages gathered in Noagaon village at around 9am on Wednesday and attacked the homes of local Hindus,” according to the Dhaka Tribune, a local news outlet.
Many local Hindus fled their homes out of fear for their safety, which gave the terrorists the opportunity to ransack and loot many homes. Police have reported that around 70-80 homes were vandalized during the attack.
The attack was reportedly in response to a conference at Derai upazila on March 15. The Dhaka Tribune reported:
The indecent [sic] happened after Hefazat-e-Islam’s Amir Allama Junaid Babunagari, Joint-Secretary General Mawlana Mufti Mamunul Haque and several other central leaders attended a conference at Derai upazila on Monday.
Enraged by Mawlana Mamunul Haque’s speech at the conference, a young Hindu man from Noagaon, Shalla upazila allegedly made a Facebook post criticizing Mamunul, who opposed the sculpture of Bangabandhu on Tuesday. Hearing of this, the mob with makeshift weapons attacked the village on Wednesday.
Hefazat leaders in the area had already staged a protest on Tuesday night, accusing the incident of inciting religious violence.
To bring the situation under control, the police arrested the youth the same night.
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Shalla Upazila Nirbahi Officer Al Muktadir Hossain said in a public statement that the accused youth has been arrested and handed over to the law enforcement for insulting Mawlana Mamunul Haque on Facebook.
