Buthpara is like any other village of Bangladesh by day. By night, it turns into a guarded bastion, where even law enforcers do not dare to venture.
Sharing a common wall with the Rajshahi University (RU) campus, Buthpara is a safe haven for Jamaat-e-Islami’s student cadres — Islami Chhatra Shibir members.
Rajshahi University has come to be known as a stronghold of Jamaat and Shibir for decades. But nowhere are they more firmly rooted than at Buthpara village. The head of the local Jamaat unit runs the area as if it were his kingdom.
The fact that this used to be an extremely poor community, made it easy for Jamaat-Shibir men to establish a strong following among the people there. The Islamist party, which actively opposed Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971, have made the villagers economically dependent on them.
Members of Jamaat-e-Islami and their student cadres have been giving away money to these poor and illiterate people, most of whom have never had a decent job, for partaking in violent acts on or around the nearby university campus.
Jamaat men and their student cadres had been instrumental in establishing vigilante militia groups during the Liberation War. These militia gangs were responsible for widespread atrocities, amounting to war crimes, across Bangladesh. A number of Jamaat leaders have already been sentenced to death for their part in perpetrating crimes against humanity.
The violent acts around campus are in fact a kind of popular “seasonal job” for many villagers. This “seasonal Shibir crew” is behind every major violent incident at Rajshahi University.
This correspondent spoke to a Shibir cadre who lives in Buthpara and goes to Rajshahi University.
On the evening before any major political demonstration or hartal, senior Jamaat-Shibir leaders hold meetings with the villagers and lay out their plans for the next day, he said. “They inspire us saying we are the protectors of Islam. And so we can do whatever is needed.”
“The following evening, after the day’s action is over, we are generally paid Tk5,000 for hitting a policeman, Tk500 - Tk1,000 for vandalising a car or a shop and Tk100 or so for setting off crude bombs.”
Rabbel Hossain, president of the local Awami League unit and one of the few who openly oppose Jamaat, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Every time there is a major political programme, Shibir men turn off the streetlights the night before in order to give the place a scary look so that nobody dares to enter. They also block the roads with trees so that police vehicles cannot go in either.”
He remembered night before Jamaat leader and war criminal Abdul Quader Molla was sentenced to death. They had major demonstrations planned for the day. Police were conducting drives in the city. “They blocked the roads into Buthpara with trees and the police could not enter.”
Asked how they move around in the area evidently infested with Shibir men and loyalists, Rabbel said: “We [Awami League supporters] never move alone after dark. I always have at least 4-5 people with me.”
Rabbel said: “On the day of Quader Molla’s verdict, some other Awami League supporters and I stayed up the entire night and guarded our houses.”
He alleged that local police get hefty bribes from the Jamaat-Shibir men and turn a blind eye towards the village.
Another Awami League supporter said Shibir men use loudspeakers of the local mosque to gather people if needed.
He said: “You will not find too many people on the streets at night. But, if someone announces ‘Naraye Takbir’ over the mosque loudspeaker, scores come on the streets ready to do whatever they are told to within a matter of minutes.”
This correspondent was barred by a policeman on duty, when trying to enter Buthpara village on Friday evening. “Come back tomorrow during the day. Buthpara is not safe for strangers after dark.”
Contacted, Moktar Alam, a sub-inspector of the Motihar police station, was only sterner in his warning. “The area you want to enter is not safe for outsiders. Most criminals of Shibir in Rajshahi live there. Attacking police vans is common for them,” he said. “If they somehow find out that you are a journalist, you may not be able to come out in one piece.”
Hasan, an Awami League supporter who lives in the nearby West Buthpara village, described his experience to Dhaka Tribune.
He was walking back home around 10:30pm on October 26. He heard a chilling “Naraye Takbir” when he reached the New Buthpara mosque. There were stabs on his back. The wounds still serve as warning. “They knew I am an Awami League supporter.”
“The Jamaat-Shibir people have their own mosque, which is off limits for the supporters of Awami League or other parties.”
This correspondent went into Buthpara the following morning. There are writings on the walls: “We want punishment for killer Hasina,” says one. “Everyone says Sayedee is a Razakar, but he is our pride,” says another. “Join Shibir and enrich your lives.” There are many more.
There was an eerie silence even in the middle of the day when villagers go about their business and markets are abuzz.
Suspecting that Jamaat-Shibir men were behind RU Professor Shafiul Islam’s murder, Rajshahi police have conducted several drives in the Buthpara area as it is locally known as “Shibir Cantonment”.
The village got the name because Shibir members usually take shelter here after committing any kind of crime. One such incident dates back to August 2013, when, after stabbing RU unit Chhatra League leader Towhid Al Hossain Tuhin, Shibir criminals fled the campus through the Buthpara gate on a motorbike.
The police were in hot pursuit, but the young Shibir men literally vanished after going past the Buthpara gate, said Motihar OC Alamgir Hossain remembering his own experience. “When we asked locals, they just denied seeing anyone.”
According to police and locals who live nearby, the houses in Buthpara work as a sanctuary for Jamaat-Shibir criminals.
“The inhabitants of Buthpara are overprotective about them. They would rather die than let police arrest any of them,” said a local living near Buthpara village, strongly requesting anonymity.
“In return, the Shibir leaders and activists are also overprotective about the village. After sunset, they patrol every path of the village. Not even a fly with a different political affiliation can get past them,” said the same man.
Mohammad Shamsuddin, the new Rajshahi police commissioner, told the Dhaka Tribune that he had already learned about some “risky issues and insecurity” centring the RU campus and adjacent areas.
“We have already ordered law enforcers to increase patrolling and keep the area under watch,” he said.