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Ramu, Nasirnagar, now Rangpur
Nayon Sarkar
A similar communal attack has recently taken place in Rangpur after Ramu and Nasirnagar. In each case, a group of fanatics carried out attack on violence in the local minority community, alleging some facebook post hurting religious sentiment of majority Muslims. Same drama! Social media which could be a positive platform is being abused in such a way in Bangladesh! The bigots who are instigated to perpetrate these incidents don’t even know what facebook is. The recent attack in Rangpur was also incited over a facebook post. On November 10, 2017, attackers set on fire several houses and looted the valuables including cash, ornaments of Hindus at Thakurpara village in Rangpur, alleging a Hindu man Titu Roy posted a status on facebook defaming Islam.
But the fact is that Titu Roy doesn’t live in the area for last several years. Even he doesn’t know how to read and write. Many families now remain homeless as attackers vandalized and burned down their houses. Though police tried to stop the attackers but failed. A committee was later formed to investigate into the incident and some accused have been arrested in the following. Earlier on October 30 in 2016, similar incident took place in Nasirnagar, Brahambaria, when local Hindus were attacked, their houses, temples and business establishments were vandalized, valuables looted, following an alleged facbook post by a fishermen named Rasharaj. The first of this kind of attack was launched on the local Buddist community in Ramu, Cox’s bazaar on September 29 2012, instigated by tagging of an image desecration of the Quran on facebook timeline of a fake ID under a Buddhist name. Attackers set ablaze houses and demolished temples and monasteries of Buddhist community. Despite these incidents are initially instigated by allegation of hurting religious sentiment, there are also allegations that political or economic interests also played a role behind each case.