March 2001

I. March 2, 2001. Agaljhara, Barisal district (in southern Bangladesh bordering the Bay of Bengal). Very young girls from the minority Hindu community: Kalpana Baroi, Sushama Ojha, Debi Vaidya and Kanan Bala were kidnapped and brutally gang-raped by a gang of Muslim reactionaries.

II. March 3, 2001. Puratan Bazar, Madanpur district. An armed group of Islamic fundamentalists broke into the home of Mrs. Nanda Bhuiyan, a member of the local Hindu minority community and local primary school teacher and looted property in excess of 50,000 Taka (approximately US $850).

III. March 5, 2001. Narayanganj district (due east of the capital city of Dhaka). Islamic fundamentalists abducted 11 year old Seema Mondol, a member of the local Hindu minority community and a sixth grade student at the Ganavidya Niketan School. When her father complained to the local police, he was threatened with very harsh consequences if he protested any further.

IV. March 6, 2001. Bogura district (northwest of the capital city of Dhaka). A Hindu convict lodged in the Bogura Jail, Santosh Das, was savagely assaulted by the police. He was taken to the local hospital where he later died as a result of his injuries.

V. March 6, 2001. Dhaka (capital city of Bangladesh). Bejoy Sarkar (age 27), a member of the local Hindu minority community and the son of Bhabesh Sarkar, was a resident of the village of Kashipur located in the Natore district (in western Bangladesh close to the Indian state of West Bengal). On March 6, he went to Dhaka, where a group of Muslim reactionaries kidnapped him and later killed him.

VI. March 9, 2001. Dighalchhari village, Subalong Union, Rangamati district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian states of Tripura and Mizoram). Three members of the minority Buddhist Chakma community named Rupenbhu, Batyaya and Anil were shot at and subsequently kidnapped by a group of Islamic reactionaries, who took to unknown area.

VII. March 14, 2001. Mymensingh district (in northern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Meghalaya). Suman Ghosh (age 28), a convict from the minority Hindu community, was beaten to death in the Mymensingh Jail.

VIII. March 15, 2001. Mirzapur village, Tangail district (proximately north of the capital city of Dhaka). Mrs. Suchitra Sutrodhar, the wife of Krishna Sutradhar, was abducted by a suspected group of Islamic zealots. Despite a complaint having been filed with the local police, there has been no trace of her.

IX. March 16, 2001. Shikirbazar village, Kotahpur police station, Gopalganj district (southwest of the capital city of Dhaka). Armed Islamic militants attacked a local pharmacy and killed Probhansa Biswas (age 33), a member of the minority Hindu community and looted over 400,000 Taka (approximately US $6700).

X. March 19, 2001. Baghai-hat Bazar village, Baghaichnar sub-district, Rangamati district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian states of Tripura and Mizoram). A group of Islamic militants looted property in excess of 500,000 Taka (approximately US $8500) from the home of Konkon Chowdhuri, a member of the minority Hindu community and a professor at the Chittagong Government College.

XI. March 20, 2001. Magnnti Nagar village, Madhupur police station, Tangail district (proximately north of the capital city of Dhaka). A Christian woman, Peetida Rema (age 28) was stabbed to death by a prominent Islamic fundamentalist, Mafizuddin. It has been discovered that Mafizuddin tried to kidnap the victim's sister. When Peetida resisted, she was killed.

XII. March 22, 2001. Rajapur village, Bhanga police station, Faridpur district (southwest of the capital city f Dhaka). Armed Islamic fundamentalists attacked the home of Shri Kali Shankar Roy and looted property in excess of 200,000 Taka (approximately US $3500). The gang also fired indiscriminately, killing a member of the family and injuring several others. Also that night, the gang looted valuables in excess of 300,000 Taka (approximately US $5000) from the home of Balaram Saha in the same village.

XIII. March 23, 2001. Nanker village, Wlapara sub-district, Shahzadpur district. A Hindu congregation gathered for the annual Ashtami Snan (a Hindu bathing ritual) was suddenly attacked by a mob of over 200 Muslim reactionaries. The criminals not only beat up the devotees but looted the jewelry from the women. In the assault, over 100 Dalit (lower caste) Hindus sustained injuries.

XIV. March 27, 2001. Amtala Road, Subdi area, Jhalkathi district (in southern Bangladesh near the Bay of Bengal). A young Hindu boy Ashish Kumar (age 8), the son of Prafulla Kumar, was killed by a local group of Islamic fundamentalists.

XV. March 28, 2001. Kharangpuria village, Khagrachhari district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura). Armed Islamic fundamentalists raided the village inhabited by the minority Chakma community and opened indiscriminate fire. Two Chakmas named Atin Chakma (age 25) and Ringdi Chakma (age 27) sustained severe injuries during the firing.

XVI. March 31, 2001. Angalbandh, Sonargaon sub-district, Narayanganj district (east of the capital city of Dhaka). Over 100,000 Hindus gathered on the banks of the river Brahmaputra for religious rites including a sacred bath during the annual Ashtami Snan festival. A gang of armed Islamic fundamentalists stopped and attacked a bus carrying 100 Hindu devotees going to festival. The local Police remained silent spectators.

XVII. March 31, 2001. Puratan-Baandh, Thanepara area, Kushtia district (in western Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of West Bengal). Nishith Kumar Mondal, a member of the minority Hindu community, was shot to death by a group of armed Islamic reactionaries.