Sunday was not a usual day for the residents of the Hindu locality in Pabna’s Banagram village, with the fear for life etched on the face of each community member. Everything may have seemed normal to an outsider, but the Hindus in the area, many with sleepless eyes, kept distance with others as much as possible.
Panic and insecurity were heightened in the locality, as many were shifting their houses and clearing off the goods from their shops.
Niranjan Ghoswami, a worshipper at one of the vandalised temples, said he had worked in the temple for the last 14 years, but had never witnessed such brutality.
“Several hundreds of people attacked the temple, but the police were inactive in preventing them,” said Krishna Sarker, another victim.
Deployment of police in the area was needed on an urgent basis for the safety of the locals, he added.
Earlier on Saturday, a large number of miscreants vandalised and torched 26 houses at Bonogram village in Santhia upazila, following rumours that Rajib Saha, a hindu boy in the area, had posted abusive posts about Prophet Mohammad (SM) on the internet.
