Minority group questions police account of Rangpur family killings, demands judicial probe

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council on Saturday questioned the police account of the killing of a teacher and his family in Rangpur, calling the incident “mysterious” and demanding a judicial investigation to identify those responsible.

More than 500 people from minority communities joined a human chain and subsequent protest march at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Aug. 29 under the banner: “The Rangpur killings are mysterious: What is the way forward for minorities to be freed from ongoing communal violence?”

The protesters marched through several streets in the capital while chanting slogans before returning to the National Press Club, where the procession ended.

Nirmal Rozario, one of the presidents of the organisation, chaired a rally before the march, while Shimul Saha, president of the Juba Oikya Parishad, conducted the programme.

Speakers included Kajal Debnath, Bhikkhu Sunandapriya, Milon Kanti Dutta, DN Chatterjee, journalist Basudeb Dhar, Jayanti Roy, Padmabati Devi, Advocate Apurba Bhattacharya, journalist Pulak Ghatak, Atul Mondal, Dipali Chakraborty, Tapas Das, Dipankar Chandra Shil and other leaders.

The leaders alleged that a particular group had carried out the killing of Rangpur teacher Ganapati Chakraborty and his family to advance its own interests and ulterior motives.

They also questioned the direction of the police investigation.

“The circumstances suggest that police activity has begun either to conceal the actual incident or to divert it in a different direction,” the leaders said, adding that they did not consider the police account of the killings credible.

The organisation strongly condemned the killings and demanded that the government immediately make a statement in parliament on the incident.

It also called for a judicial inquiry to ensure what it described as a proper investigation, identify the actual perpetrators and bring them to exemplary punishment.

The leaders said the Rangpur killings had created fear not only among minority communities in the area but also among minorities across Bangladesh.

They claimed the incident was encouraging members of minority communities to leave the country and had damaged Bangladesh’s image internationally.

The organisation also alleged that communal violence was continuing across the country at levels similar to those seen in the past.

Citing information gathered from newspapers, the leaders said at least 41 incidents of communal violence were recorded across Bangladesh in July, describing the figure as partial.

According to the organisation, those incidents included six killings and two rapes, as well as 10 incidents involving the vandalism and looting of idols at temples.

Two people were arrested on charges of insulting religion, while five attacks on Indigenous people were reported during the month, it said.

The group also recorded 10 incidents of attacks, vandalism and looting targeting homes and business establishments, two cases of forcible land grabbing and four other incidents.

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