May 2001
I. May 2, 2001. Ranabati village, Abhaynagar sub-district, Jessore district (in southwest Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of West Bengal). Islamic fundamentalists forcibly looted property and valuables worth over 100,000 Taka ( approximately US $1,825) from the home of Narayan Sarkar, a minority Hindu resident of the village.
II. May 16, 2001. Charanikhal, Ishwarganj sub-district, Mymensingh district (in northern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Meghalya). A group of Muslim fundamentalists stabbed Arun Chandra Biswas, a teacher at the Model Government Primary School, to death.
III. May 16, 2001. Karpara village, Sadar police station, Gopalganj district (southwest of the capital city of Dhaka). The Bangladesh Federal Health Minister, Mohammed Selim, was on a visit to this village. A Hindu resident, Kalipada Biswas, was critical of the minister and his department on account of its performance. The criticism enraged the minister who “asked” Kalipada to go to India for better health services (Editor’s note: Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh are often “asked” to migrate to India.)
IV. May 19, 2001. Baghai-hat Bazar village, Baghaichnar sub-district, Rangamati district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian states of Tripura and Mizoram). A gang of armed Islamic activists torched thirty one thatched homes belongin to the Buddhist tribal Chakma community. A resident of the village, Kripamoy Chakma, later died as a result of his injuries.
V. May 19, 2001. Charsahabhikhari village, Daganbhua sub-district, Feni district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura). Armed Muslim fundamentalists forcibly looted valuables in excess of 100,000 Taka (approximately US $ 1,900) from the home of a Police Constable from the minority Hindu community, Dhirendra Nath Das, who was also a resident of the village.
VI. May 20, 2001. Laulbandl Area, Sripura sub-district, Magura district (west of the capital city of Dhaka). A group of Muslim fundamentalists abducted a teenage Hindu girl, named L. R. Biswas, the daughter of Tengra Biswas. When she refused to convert to the religion of Islam, the zealots gang-raped her and then brutally murdered her.
VII. May 20, 2001. Charchandiya village Sonaghazi sub-district, Feni district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura). A gang of armed Muslim zealots raided several homes belonging to members of the minority Hindu community and looted property in excess of 600,000 Taka (approximately US $ 11,000). The affected homes all belonged to prominent Hindus of the village: Advocate Subhas Das, Arjun Das, Arun, and Gouranga Das.
VIII. May 20, 2001. Madhavnagar town, Sunamganj (in northern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Meghalya). A Hindu member of the police personnel, Montu Bhushan Roy on duty was shot by rabid Islamic fundamentalists in this town. He is currently in critical condition.
IX. May 20, 2001. Sadar police station, Jessore district (in southwest Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of West Bengal). A teenage Dalit Hindu girl, Kalyani Biswas (age 16), was abducted by a gang of Muslim fundamentalists while she was on her way to school. A ninth grade student, Kalyani is the daughter of a N. C. Biswas.
X. May 21, 2001. Borachandra-Karbaripara village, Matiranga sub-district, Khagrachhari district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura). A group of Bangladeshi Army personnel, all of whom were Muslims, gang raped three minority tribal girls in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. In protest, members of the local tribal community blocked local roads for over 12 hours.
XI. May 23, 2001. Krishnanagar village, Kaliganj sub-district, Satkhira district (in southwest Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of West Bengal and the Bay of Bengal). A gang of armed Islamic fundamentalists attacked the home of S. C. Sarker, a Hindu resident of the village. The gang looted valuables in excess of 300,000 (approximately US $ 5,500). In the attack seven members of the household sustained serious injuries.
XII. May 24, 2001. Alampur town, Pirgang sub-district, Rangpur district (in northern Bangladesh very close to the Indian states of West Bengal and Assam). Shariful Islam, a leader of a local Islamic fundamentalist group, led a group of his followers and attacked the home of Ranjana Rani Sarkar (age 22) in attempt to rape her. When Ranjana resisted, Shariful stabbed her and her 4 year old baby repeatedly killing them on the spot. Ranjana’s husband who was away from home at the time of crime has since filed a case against Shariful and his gang. The local police and administration have yet to take any action against the accused, who is freely roaming in the area with his group.
XIII. May 25, 2001. Sutrapur police station, Dhaka (capital city of Bangladesh). The Dhaka Police seized four Hindu religious icons valued over 20,000,000 Taka (approximately US $ 365,000) from the Taj Sharif Press located at Chandra Mohan Lane. The police took into custody a prominent Muslim reactionary named Abul Kalem, who has been linked with an international smuggling gang.
XIV. May 25, 2001. Sriramkathi area, Nazirpur sub-district, Pirozpur district (in southern Bangladesh bordering the Bay of Bengal). A gang of Muslim fundamentalists attacked a college student named Sabita Haldar (age 18, a member of the minority Dalit Hindu community, and threw acid on her face, badly disfigured it.
XV. May 29, 2001. Pabna town (in western Bangladesh). A gang of Islamic zealots torched the Satsang Ashram of the Hindu saint, Thakur Anukul Chandra. Four Hindus sustained injuries in the fire. The fundamentalists then threatened to kill Rabindra Kumar Sarkar, the General Secretary of the Bangladesh Satsang.