After deadly clashes with police, Muslims also attacked Hindu homes, temple in Bhola

Angry Muslims did not spare the Hindu families after deadly clashes with police in Bhola’s Borhanuddin last Sunday over a Facebook post spreading religious slur.

Shots were fired from the protesters' side as well and two of the dead had their heads thrashed by some heavy objects, police claimed, alleging a conspiracy behind the violence even after the Islamist leaders had been told about the hacking of the Facebook account at the centre of the protests.

The clashes on and around the Eidgah ground left four people dead and over 100 others, including 10 policemen, injured.

Around a kilometre away, the protesters vandalised or torched nine Hindu homes and a temple at Rabindra Palli (Bhawal Bari) immediately after the clashes.

The residents of the neighbourhood are still living in fear days after the attacks.

“We could not imagine the situation would turn this worse. A group of people attacked us before we could apprehend anything,” Ava Rani Das, a woman in her 60s, said.

The six to seven members of the family took shelter inside the house and switched off the lights and fans so that no-one could understand that there were people inside, she said.

After vandalising the house, the unidentified attackers ransacked the temple next to it and while returning after damaging the other Hindu homes, they set fire to one. A motorcycle was also torched.

Some 35 Hindu families live in the area along with five Muslim families.

The Muslim neighbours helped the Hindus save some of the homes during the attacks, Ava said.

A committee formed by the district administration to investigate Sunday’s incident has inspected the damaged homes and temple and talked to the residents.

“We are trying to catch the real culprits,” Borhanuddin Police Station OC M Enamul Haque said.One of the residents, Satya Prasad Das, started a case against 400-500 people who he could not name over the attacks.

“They beat me up though I am a senior citizen. We couldn’t save anything. Now we want trial of those involved in the attacks and compensation for us,” he told bdnews24.com.

Housewife Laxmi Rani Das said the attackers got divided into groups of 25 to 30 and vandalised the homes.

Her daughter Smriti Dey said: “While leaving, two of them said they should torch our house. They dragged out our belongings and set them on fire.”

“They’ve ruined everything,” Laxmi said.

Now the members of the family are living in their neighbours' and relatives’ homes.