Two left leaning political parties — Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Bangladesh Shamajtantrik Dal (BSD) — accused the state minister for home affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku of sheltering those who were involved in attacks on minority community at Shanthia in Pabna.
The parties raised the issue at a press conference in the city on Sunday, when they presented a report showing the state minister maintaining links with the perpetrators.
The parties conducted an investigation on the incidents and presented their findings at the conference. The investigations report said that the incident could be avoided if police had acted promptly. The majority of the attackers were young and their main aim was looting, it observed. The CPB and BSD leaders pointed out that some of attackers were seen accompanying the state minister during his visit to the spot. Under the circumstances, the victims remained silent in fear, they told the journalists.
The parties recommended formation of a judicial probe committee and demanded proper compensations to the victims. Besides, they also demanded trial and proper punishment to the attackers. Rajendra Kumar Ratan, a central leader of BSD, presented the probe report while some senior leaders of both the parties were present at the press conference.
-With AFP/The Independent input
