In a recent targeted violence on the eve of Christmas, a village of Tripura Christian was set ablaze in Bangladesh. The village named Betachhara Para in the Tongjhiri area is situated in Ward 8 of the Sarai Union of Lama Upazila.
According to a native citizen, the Tripura Christian community of the village went to participate in Christmas prayer at a nearby church in a neighbouring Tonggyajhiri village. The miscreants capitalize on the community’s absence and put the village on fire. According to the reports, there were a total of 19 houses in the village, of which 17 were completely destroyed in the fire.
In a statement from the local police station, the police said that “no formal complaint had been registered” regarding the night incident. Appropriate action can only be taken after getting a formal complaint.
Due to the threats coming from the perpetrators, all of the villagers left the village at once for prayer. The official complaint has not been filed due to that threat only. The local administration has provided relief materials for the affected families, such as rice, lentils, oil, and blankets, as all of their belongings were turned into ashes in the fire.
It is noteworthy that the victim families are Tripura Christians and have lived in the Tongjhiri Tripura Para area for several generations. However, a few years ago, they were evicted from their houses after it was alleged that the land had been leased to a police officer’s wife, who had planted trees there. They returned to the village, nevertheless, and began residing in temporary homes following the overthrow of the Awami League government.
Gungamani Tripura, one of the victims, shared his anguish, “Our houses have been completely burned to ashes. We could not save anything. Today is supposed to be our happiest day, but this has turned into a nightmare. We demand exemplary punishment for the criminals.”
Tripura Christians are people from the Tripura community who follow Christianity as their religion.
The incidents of minority persecutions and killings have become a routine task in the Mohammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh after the fall of the democratically elected leader Sheikh Hasina in August. The news of the killing of Hindus, Christians and other minorities in Bangladesh is coming daily.
The interim government looks paralyzed in containing the religious violence in Bangladesh. The radical elements under the banner of Jamat-e-Islami have grown in the country and are trying to change the social fabric of Bangladesh.
