September 2002

I. September 7, 2002. Sultanpur area, Naogaon district (in northwestern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of West Bengal). Sagarika Das (age 18), the wife of a Hindu fisherman, was kidnapped by a group of right wing Islamic fundamentalists. Sagarika's mother-in-law attempted to save her and suffered serious injuries in the process.

II. September 9, 2002. Kandipara area, Brahmanbaria district (in eastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura). Ananda Saha, a member of the minority Hindu community, is an owner of a local Hindu temple. His family priest was threatened by armed reactionary Muslims. Afterwards, they looted all the valuables of the temple.

III. September 9, 2002. Karunakanda Uchcha Vidyalaya (a local school), Gabtoli sub-district, Bogura district (in northern Bangladesh near the Indian state of West Bengal). A Hindu named Dwijendranath Mali (age 65), the night guard at the school was murdered by a group of Islamic reactionaries.

IV. September 11, 2002. Motherbunia region, Ukhia sub-district, Cox’s Bazar district (in southeastern Bangladesh close to Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal). Local Islamic fundamentalists of the Chakma para area attacked several houses owned by members of the local Hindu minority community. Three Buddhist Chakma women were gang raped by Muslim fundamentalists in the area. Ka Ja Ching, the local Chakma leader, has requested the district magistrate and the Prime Minister for security in the area.

V. September 11, 2002. Kabirajbari area, Bhangakha union, Lakkhipur district (in southern Bangladesh near the Bay of Bengal). Several Hindu families were attacked by Muslim fundamentalists. Two Hindu girls named Shikha Rani Saha (age 16) and Shiulirani Saha (age 14) were forcibly kidnapped. Their father, Janardan Saha, tried to save his daughters, but was shot by Islamic zealots. Currently, he is in critical condition at the local hospital.

VI. September 14, 2002. Mohajon village, Noragoti police station, Narail district (southwest of the capital city of Dhaka). A Hindu villager named Ramkrishna Pal (age 35) was brutally murdered by radical Islamic fundamentalists. His corpse was found at the nearby pond.

VII. September 14, 2002. Kaliganj sub-district of Narail district (southwest of the capital city of Dhaka). A Hindu villager named Sandip Biswas (age 19) was seriously injured in attack carried out by Islamic zealots. On October 13, he died at the Khulna Surgical clinic.

VIII. September 15, 2002. Shahabazpur village, Purbadhala sub-district, Netrakona district (in northern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Meghalaya). A right wing Islamic reactionary group has demanded 100,000 Taka (approximately US $2,000) from a Hindu villager named Nikhil Chandra Devnath in the form of a Zizyia tax (an extortion tax imposed by Muslim fundamentalists on non-Muslims). He has been threatened with death, if he refused to pay the tax.

IX. September 18, 2002. Karbishnupur village, Shonagagi police station, Feni district (in southeastern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura). The two Hindu daughters of Haralal Das, Kajalrani Das (31) and Rupallibala Das (17), were gang-raped by a group of right wing Islamic fundamentalists. Abul Bashar, the leader of this fundamentalist group and very popular man in the area, has been arrested by the police.

X. September 21, 2002. Kaladi village, Matlab Corporation area, Chandpur district (southwest of the capital city of Dhaka). A Hindu villager named Manjurani (age 48), who is the wife of Sukumar Chandra, was attacked by two Muslim extremists named Jalil Majhi and Ataul Majhi. They chopped off Manjurani's tongue in the attack. They looted all the valuable goods from Sukumar Chandra's house. Currently, Manjurani is undergoing treatment at the Chandpur hospital. A case has been filed at the nearby police station.

XI. September 23, 2002. Haroa village, Baraigram sub-district, Natore district (in western Bangladesh near the Indian state of West Bengal). An Islamic fundamentalist group, consisting of thirty Islamic reactionaries, attacked two Christian families. Their houses were destroyed and looted. Hindru Cruz and Babul Cruz's houses have been captured by Ershad Ali, who is a local Islamic leader. Two Christian women were forced to become naked and then savagely assaulted.

XII. September 24, 2002. Gopalganj district (southwest of the capital city of Dhaka). The district correspondent of Dainik Prothom Alo, Subroto Saha, a member of the minority Hindu community, was murdered by Islamic reactionaries.

XIII. September 29, 2002. Durgapur village, Gopalganj district (southwest of the capital city of Dhaka). Local Hindu fishermen were threatened by Islamic reactionaries to pay zizyia tax (an extortion tax imposed by Muslim fundamentalists on non-Muslims). When the Hindu fishermen refused to pay the tax, they were savagely assaulted. The Hindu victims, who suffered serious injuries, are Nityagopal Biswas, Subhash Biswas, Dolaram Biswas, Bholanath Biswas and Mukundo Biswas.

XIV. September 29, 2002. Feni district (in southern Bangladesh bordering the Indian state of Tripura). Ujjal Chakrovorty, a Hindu worker, has been stabbed by an Islamic reactionary.