Attack on Hindus: B'desh suspends senior police officer

Bangladesh police today suspended a senior officer for negligence of duty in Bramhanbaria temple demolition incident, as the top counter-terrorism unit began probing the origin of a controversial Facebook post that sparked the communal violence against Hindus this week.
Brahmanbaria district's Nasirnagar police station Officer- in-Charge Md Abdul Kader was suspended for negligence of duty in the temple demolition incident, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
The suspension order was issued today, Assistant Police Commissioner (Headquarters) Razon Kumar Das said.
About 3,000 people gathered in Nasirnagar upazila on Sunday to stage a protest against the Facebook post. The rally organised by radical Islamist groups resulted in the violence against the minority Hindus and the demolition of temples.

More than 100 people were injured, hundreds of families were left homeless and more than 10 temples vandalised in the nearby villages, the paper said.
The Facebook account was owned by 30-year-old Rasraj Das - an Awami League supporter. Rasraj, who had deleted the post on early Saturday. He was taken into custody the same day.

The Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit has started the probe into the origin of the Facebook post.
Alimuzzaman, deputy commissioner of the CTTC unit's cyber crime team, told the paper they have already started gathering information during the primary stages of the investigation.

Another cyber crime team under the Criminal Investigation Department is also helping with the probe, CID sources said.
A top police official said they have formed a four-member team to probe the matter. Committee members are on the spot to investigate the incident.
Meanwhile, the Hindus in the area who had chosen not to flee despite massacres committed against them during the 1971 Liberation War are now thinking of it to save their life.
At least six Hindu families have crossed over to India after Sunday's attacks, the paper said.
"Many Hindu families have left their houses and are afraid of coming back to the village. I came here to observe the situation and will go back to my relative's house in the night," the paper quoted an elderly Hindu person as saying.

He said at least five families had crossed the border in the last two days.
Locals say that around 33 per cent voters of Nasirnagar are Hindus and they have always favoured the Awami League.
A four-member team of the Awami League led by Organising Secretary AKM Enamul Haque Shamim visited the affected temples and houses yesterday and assured the Hindus of apprising the prime minister about the situation.
The affected Hindus had complained to them against the officer-in-charge of Nasirnagar police, Abdul Kader, for his indifference to protect them and the temples.