Rangpur police arrest three union council members over attack on Hindu homes

Police in Rangpur have arrested three local elected representatives over the arson attack on Hindu homes in a village near the district town.

The three are Maminpur Union Parishad members Zoynal Abedin, Fazlul Haque and Sirajul Islam.

Zoynal and Fazlul were held late on Thursday and Sirajul on Friday, Kotwali Police Station OC Ferdous Ahmed told bdnews24.com.

Zoynal and Fazlul were brought in to question in the cases filed over the attack on the homes of Hindus, and later sent to jail on court orders, the OC said.

Sirajul was arrested late on Friday night and was due to appear before court, he added.

Several homes in the Thakurparha village were set ablaze on Nov 10 during a large demonstration over a Facebook post allegedly by a Hindu man Titu Roy, which reportedly hurt religious sensitivities.

Homes belonging to Hindu residents were attacked during the demonstration calling for Titu’s arrest.

A man was shot dead in an ensuing clash with police while 11 others were injured.

The next day, police filed two cases over the incident accusing over 2,000 people.

Police have arrested 103 people, including the Union Parishad members and a local Jamaat-e-Islami leader, so far in the two cases.

Titu Roy was also arrested in a case under the Information and Communication Technology Act on the allegations of hurting religious feelings through the Facebook post.

Titu's family, however, dismissed the claim.

“My son never went to school,” said his mother Jiten Bala adding his son practised herbal medicine.

“He left home 10 years ago to try to make a living,” she told bdnews24.com on Tuesday, when police arrested Titu.