Extremism on the loose

We condemn in the strongest possible terms what could be described as re-enactment of the Ramu incident a few years ago. A facebook post, allegedly by a member of the Hindu community sparked off violence against Hindus in Brahmanbaria's Nasirnagar upazila. The attack itself appeared organised resulting in widespread damage to property and temples also. The question we must ask ourselves is why the police did not act decisively given that the appearance of a doctored image was posted on facebook on October 29 and could be used to whip up religious sentiments, which it was. We understand that the youth was handed over to the police the day before the attack, and given the sensitivity of the situation and precedence like Ramu in 2012, why did the police not take proactive measures to ward off any repetition?

It is a major failure of intelligence when it was obvious that the atmosphere of the locality was being intentionally tensed up and prudence dictated that precautions be taken to protect religious sites like temples in the locality. It is inexplicable to us that a piece of information had been planted in the social network facebook and was viewed by thousands over 48 hours and yet the police had no idea of any scheme being afoot. 

Although the police have filed cases over the Brahmanbaria incident, we must wake up to the fact that this wasn't a spontaneous attack and these are deliberate actions to disrupt the religious harmony in the country. We demand a quick trial and most severe punishment for the culprits.