One year of Nasirnagar attack: Rasraj is yet to get past the thin blue line

One year on, Rasraj Dash is still haunted by the faces of his attackers. They keep on appearing in his sleep time and again. There are nights when he gives a shriek and wake up. It was October 30 last year. A mob of radical Islamists beat Rasraj mercilessly and handed him over to police, alleging that he posted a morphed image of Kaba on the Facebook. The attackers also vandalised and looted his house, and destroyed two Puja pavilions at Haripur village. The controversial Facebook photo also sparked a series of communal attacks on the Hindu minority of the area. At least 17 temples and Puja pavilions, and over 58 houses were vandalised and looted by a mob of about 3,000 people following a rally, organised by radical Islamist groups Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and Hefazat-e-Islam. There were announcements from local mosques the previous day – a trend seen many times in the recent years to attack temples and houses of the Hindus and the Buddhists across the country. Later more houses were vandalised and torched in the area. Police investigation later found out that the morphed photo posted from Rasraj's Facebook account was used to by the masterminds of the attacks to spread communal hatred. However, thin blue line over Rasraj's innocence has not yet been reached. The poor fishermen is still requiring to appear before the court during the hearings of a case filed over the Facebook post under the ICT Act. Rasraj secured his bail two-and-a-half-month after his arrest. He can not affort ot remain idle and trying to return to normalcy. “It is not scary to go out anymore. I am going to the beel (natural waterbody) for fishing these days. I have to survive by fishing. I am not apt in any other work.” “One year has passed since the case was filed against me by police, but I still have to go to the Brahmanbaria court, quite frequently. I have no way but to give up pulling the fishing net on those days,” he noted. The young fisherman complained that his still suffers from redcurrant pain all over the body, and in some nights, he can not even sleep. “Can not sleep in excruciating pain during the full moons or the nights before the new moon. I jump out of bed after nightmares where some people chase me. They will beat me. But I did not know anything about the Facebook thing.” Talking to the Dhaka Tribune at their home yard, Rasraj's sister Somna Rani Dash also noted that the family is struggling to find a mach for him over his indictment in the case The family thinks it is the right age for Rasraj to get married. But the guardians of possible matches are showing disinterest to marry their daughter of to the young man because he is still facing charges in a case.