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20-25 Hindus Homes Set on Fire and Looted In Jessore

Rajib Sharma
May 24, 2025 9:26 pm
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Tariqul Islam, the president of the Krishak Dal (Farmers’ Wing of the BNP) in the Nawapara Municipality of Abhaynagar Upazila, Jessore, was hacked and shot to death by miscreants over a dispute involving the lease of a fish enclosure. Following the incident, local BNP activists reportedly carried out arson attacks and looted at least 20-25 homes belonging to innocent Hindu families in the village. Several businesses were also vandalized, looted, and set on fire. In addition, a Hindu nursing student named Sagar Biswas was allegedly abducted.

The murder occurred on Thursday evening at a house in Dhor Moshihati village, where Tariqul Islam (50) was lured and then brutally hacked and shot. According to his family, he was called out from his home and killed due to a conflict over the lease of a fish enclosure. Tariqul Islam was the son of Ibrahim Sardar from Dhopadi village and served as the president of the Nawapara Municipality Krishak Dal.

Following the killing, a group of individuals carried out looting, vandalism, and arson attacks on at least 20 Hindu homes in Dhor Moshihati village that night. Additionally, two shops in Sundoli Bazaar were set ablaze, and four others were vandalized. At least 10 people were injured in the attacks.

According to several locals, most of the land in the Bil Kachurabad area is owned by residents of Dhor Moshihati village. After the lease on one of the enclosures expired, the owner withdrew. Tariqul Islam had planned to lease the land for fish farming. Another individual also expressed interest in leasing the same enclosure, leading to a dispute. On Thursday evening, that individual’s associates called Tariqul to the house of one Piltu Biswas in Dhor Moshihati village, where he was first hacked and then shot dead.

Later, under the protection of the army and police, fire service personnel arrived to extinguish the flames in the affected homes.

Homes in Dhor Moshihati Burnt to Ashes; Village Men Flee in Fear

On Friday, video footage from Dhor Moshihati village showed houses reduced to skeletal remains. The corrugated iron roofs were twisted and collapsed due to the fire. Inside several homes, furniture, clothes, mattresses, bedding, televisions, and refrigerators were found completely charred. Burnt household items lay scattered inside the rooms. In some homes, broken beds, chairs, tables, wardrobes, and closets were strewn about. In front of the burnt houses, at least five motorcycles and a motorized van were seen destroyed by fire. Flames also scorched trees near several houses.

It has been reported that Hindu homes in the Abhaynagar area are now devoid of men. Many families have fled, leaving their homes behind. Although a few women were seen in some houses, they said they were living under constant threat. Fear was visible on their faces.

The women said that on Thursday night, there was a religious event at the home of Sujit Biswas in the village. Around 600 guests had been invited. From the afternoon, devotional songs were being played on two loudspeakers. Some guests had already arrived. Around 6:45 PM, they learned that a person had been murdered in a nearby house.

According to the village women, some guests left, but the event continued. Around 8:00 PM, four to five attackers initially came, followed by over 150 people, who launched coordinated attacks on the houses. At that time, people fled in all directions to save themselves. The attackers entered homes, looted belongings, and took away two motorcycles. They then gathered furniture into piles and set them on fire. Three harmoniums and three drums used in the religious event were smashed. All the food prepared for the ceremony was destroyed. At least 10 men and women were beaten and injured. While leaving, the attackers abducted Sujit Biswas’s son, Sagar Biswas (25). They then set fire to two shops and vandalized four others in Sundoli Bazaar after looting them. At around 10:00 PM, under the protection of the army and police, firefighters arrived and extinguished the fires.

Housewife Panna Biswas said, “We had a TV, refrigerator, jewelry, passports, medical prescriptions, and around 150,000 taka in cash at home. Now, everything is gone. Only six members of our family are left alive.” Another woman, Smriti Biswas, said, “First they came into the house, looted the jewelry and money. They brutally beat me. Then they kicked me to the ground.”

Iqbal Kabir Zahid, General Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist League of Bangladesh and Chief Advisor of the Bhobodaha Water Drainage Movement Committee, visited the attacked homes in Dhor Moshihati village. He was accompanied by Zillur Rahman, a member of the district secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist League, and Freedom Fighter Gazi Abdul Hamid, Joint Convener of the Bhobodaha Committee, among others.

Demanding justice for Tariqul’s murder, Iqbal Kabir Zahid said, “We demand justice for the killing of Tariqul. The culprits must be arrested and brought to justice. But a particular group used Tariqul’s murder as a pretext to loot and set fire to 19 to 20 homes in the village of Dhor Moshihati (also known as Bareda). We strongly condemn and protest these incidents and demand justice. We also demand that the victims be compensated.”

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Abhaynagar Police Station, Abdul Alim, said that Tariqul Islam was hacked and shot dead due to a dispute over the lease of a fish enclosure. No case has been filed yet in connection with the incident.

The OC also mentioned that the situation in Dhor Moshihati is under control and police have been deployed there. After the incident, Sagar Biswas had gone into hiding. He was rescued from the village on Friday afternoon and is now in police custody.

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