Before December 14, Ramganj was very much like any other village in Nilphamari, or for that matter any other around the country.
But things have changed drastically after that fateful day when legendary actor and Awami League Lawmaker Asaduzzaman Noor’s motorcade was attacked by Jamaat-Shibir men and five of his associates were killed.
The place is only about 10km away from the office of the Nilpharami district police chief (SP) and about 6km from the district police lines. That fact that it should not be more than a few minutes’ drive for police, has not been able to comfort the villagers, especially the Hindus.
At 6pm on Saturday, this correspondent asked a rickshaw puller if he would take him to the Ramganj village from the Nilphamari district township.
The reply was overwhelming: “I would not go there in the dark of the night even if you gave me Tk1,000.” The usual rickshaw fare should not be more than Tk70-80.
Some other rickshaw pullers and auto-rickshaw drivers also said the same – they were not ready to travel into Ramganj at night no matter how much they were offered.
The next morning, however, one of the rickshaw pullers agreed to go to Ramganj in exchange for a double fare and on condition that he would take the fare and leave this correspondent if something happened on the way.
On the way, Asad, the rickshaw puller, said: “Since the attack on Noor’s motorcade, nobody dares go there [Ramganj] at night. They are scared to go there even in daylight.”
He said the local Awami League leaders and activists had not been staying at home at night fearing attacks by Jamaat-Shibir men. The Hindus had been living in utter fear for their lives. The Jamaat-Shibir men had been vandalising all vehicles that had been passing Ramganj Bazaar – the place where Noor was attacked.
About a kilometer away from Ramganj village, Asad stopped and asked this correspondent to get down and pay his fare because he did not dare go any closer.
As this correspondent walked in, the atmosphere was unlike anything that could be seen in a normal quiet Bangladeshi village. The village was quiet all right, but it was from the tension and fear that has gripped the area since that deadly attack.
Very few men could be seen around because most were hiding fearing attack by Jamaat-Shibir men.
Sonatan, a resident of Jelepara, warned me: “Opposition men vandalised a potato-laden truck last night [Saturday night] when it was passing through the area.”
The Hindu fisherman could not hold his tears as he gave an account of the predicament. “They [Jamaat-Shibir men] threatened us. They told us to leave the village. I have three small kids. Where will I go if they throw me out? They said if something happened to them, they would attack us first.”
About 500 Hindu families from the Ramganj village have been passing their days and nights in utter fear. Some of them have been sleeping at the local Hari Temple at night with bows and arrows, to protect it from the Jamaat-Shibir vandals.
“We have around five and a half thousand arrows with which we guard the temple at night by rotation,” said villager Bidhan.
When asked about police, Bidhan said: “What would police do? They just patrol the area once or twice a day and raid one or two houses. They do not find anyone because the Jamaat-Shibir men leave the area after being tipped off and come back after the raids are over.”
“Our Nilphamari district has always been a peaceful area. We have never seen anything like this in the last 40 years,” said 55-year old Ziaul, a resident of the village.
The district police super, however, had a completely different view of the situation.
“There is nothing to fear from the Jamaat-Shibir men as police have been continuously chasing the criminals down. We have already made some arrests,” Mohammad Zubayedur Rahman, Nilphamari police super, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Then why have the Hindus been guarding their temple with bows and arrows?
He replied: “They are doing it from their religious faith. Nothing has happened in the area that might scare them. Who would attack a village that is almost empty, especially when the criminals know that we have been raiding the area and arresting the criminals?”