None held yet for attack on puja mandop in Satkhira

Six people were injured in the attack allegedly made by some local Jamaat activists, sources in the Puja committee said.

Satkhira district Puja Udjapan Committee in a statement yesterday protested the attack and criticised police inaction in arresting the culprits. None was held as the accused are activists of ruling party, they alleged.

They demanded arrest and exemplary punishment of the culprits.

In thes, Monoranjan Mukherjee and Bihari Sarkar, president and general secretary of the district Puja Udjapan committee, said a gang led by Nazim, Mamun, Nazu Par, Shahjahan, Manirul and Murshid raided the Khalsebunia Kalibari puja mandap and resisted the priest from carrying out rituals.

Several devotees and community police men deployed there came under attack by the miscreants as they protested the attack, the statement said.

The attackers also snapped the power supply line, the statement alleged.

The injured include Khalse-bunia Puja committee president Radhakanto Mondal, Sharat and community police men Mosharraf, Fazal, Abul Hossain and Shamsur Rahman.

The devotees caught an alleged attacker, Nazim, and handed him over to Shyamnagar thana but police sent him to jail showing him arrested under Section 54 of Cr PC, the statement claimed.

Soon after the attack, Tushar Kanti Barman, general secretary of the puja committee, made an FIR with Shyamnagar thana accusing 17 including the aforesaid people but police declined to record it as a case, the committee sources alleged.

Panic has gripped the Hindu community in the area as they are fearing retaliation because the culprits are moving freely, they said.

Shyamnagar thana officer-in-charge Zahid however said, a case was filed for 'beating community police men'.

When contacted yesterday, Zohurul Islam, office secretary of Satkhira district Jamaat said the attackers are not members of the party.