Paush Shuklapaksha 5, Kaliyug Varsha 5115
Worried faces of a Hindu family of Bawra village in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat
Bangladesh : Hindu voters in different places including Patgram in Lalmonirhat district and Kalaroa upazila in Satkhira district have expressed doubts whether they can go to polling centres and cast votes peacefully today as fear of insecurity still haunts them against the backdrop of Jamaat-Shibir men's recent attacks on the community.
Our correspondent S Dilip Roy visited the Hindu voters in two constituencies under Lalmonirhat district yesterday on the eve of national elections.
"Jamaat-Shibir men attacked the local Hindus on October 27 last year. Criminals again attacked the community people today [Saturday] morning and torched the traditional temple, creating panic among the local Hindus. We are now too afraid to cast our votes," Harendra Nath Roy, 65, caretaker of traditional Parapukur Shwashan Mandir at Shafinagar village of Patgram upazila, said.
"The Hindu voters in general are apprehensive about going to polling centres as Jamaat-Shibir men still pose threat. There are at least 35 thousand Hindu voters in Patgram upazila but only small portion of them, who are involved with Awami League politics, may cast their votes," said Rajani Kanta Ghosh, a local Hindu community leader at Ghoshpara village of Patgram upazila.
Schoolteacher Suchitra Rani Pal, 45, a Hindu voter at Jagotbar village of the upazila, said she is unsure about casting her vote as there is high threat to Hindu people at the village.
“I talked with over a hundred of Hindu women who are not interested to go the polling centres,” she said.
The administration has classified 145 of the 220 polling centres in the two constituencies as 'vulnerable', as Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir have a good number of activists there.
Habibur Rahman, returning officer of Lalmonirhat, said the administration has made all preparations to keep the election free from violence and so, the Hindu voters can cast their votes without any fear.
Our Satknira Correspondent reports: Panicked Hindus in Kalaroa and Satkhira Sadar upazilas are still unsure about going to the polling centres for casting their votes in the parliament election today.
Several hundred Hindu families of Satkhira Sadar upazila, who left their homes during recent violence committed by Jamaat-Shibir activists, are yet to return home, even after joint forces' drives in the area.
Masked men brought out procession in Jalalabad union under Kalaroa upazila on Friday night asking people not to cast their votes, much to the worry of the Hindu voters, he added.
Source : The Daily Star
