No trial of communal incidents held in 15yrs: Tarique Rahman

There has been no trial or credible investigation into any communal incident over the past 15 years, as the fascist Awami League government has exploited these issues for narrow political gains, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman said today (20 September).

While exchanging greetings with the members of the Hindu community, he also called for the formation of a civic investigation commission, consisting of representatives from civil society, all political parties, and various religious groups to uncover the actual causes behind communal incidents and ensure proper justice is served.

“Has there been a trial of any incident in the last 15 years? Or has there been a credible investigation into any incident, let alone a trial?” he addressed a programme virtually at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan Office, marking the Janmashtami festival of the Hindu Community.

Citing various communal incidents, including the Ramu Buddhist temple attacks in 2012 and the Nasirnagar attack in 2016, Tarique Rahman questioned why trials for these incidents have not been conducted and why credible investigations have not taken place.

Pointing at the Awami League government, he said the illegal and non-democratic government tried to create communal issues in a bid to divert public attention from its misrules and exploitation. “In this case, they still trying so,” he said.

“If we all conduct a neutral review over all the attacks on minorities or religious establishments, we’ll see not a single incident occurred directly for religious reasons rather the real reasons behind these were making narrow interests and ill-political gains by the so-called political party,” he said.

He extended his sincere greetings to all members of the country’s Hindu community on the Janmashtami festival, which was celebrated on 26 August, commemorating the birth of Lord Sri Krishna.