Arrestees in lynching cases linked to ‘anti-government’ force, says IGP Patwary

Police found some of the arrestees in lynching cases in parts of Bangladesh having links to the ‘anti-government’ force, said Inspector General of Police Mohammad Javed Patwary.

“A vested quarter has been conspiring to create unrest in the country. We can’t share the details now. We face such propaganda and Facebook posts not only at home but also abroad,” the IGP said in a press briefing at the Police Headquarters on Wednesday.

“We have found some arrestees having links with the anti-government political parties,” Patwary said in response to the queries by reporters.

No arrestees belong to the ruling party, he said.

The government urged people not to be misled by rumours, such as ‘severed human head needed to construct the Padma Bridge’. The rumour set social media ablaze. Few were arrested over the spreading of the rumour.

In the meantime, a man was lynched in Netrokona on Thursday after finding him carrying a ‘severed head of a child.’ 

There were several other cases of lynching in parts of the country. A woman suspected to be a kidnapper was lynched at Badda, who went there to make queries about putting her child in school. In some cases, previous rivalry led the perpetrator to provoke a mob and lynch his opponent.

Rumours sparked the lynching of at least six persons in the country over the last few days, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Tuesday.

None of the lynching victims was an ‘abductor,’ Patwary said at the press briefing on Wednesday. The rumours were spread with an ill intention, he said. 

Police found a person based in Dubai when they investigated the first Facebook post spreading such rumours, according to the IGP.

The officer urged people to inform police if they come across such incidents. Those involved in lynching will be named in murder cases, he said.