Fear continues to grip Hindu and Buddhist minority communities in Rauzan upazila of Chattogram, even over a month after a series of arson attacks on their homes.
Despite assurances from law enforcement officials, affected families say a deep sense of insecurity remains, forcing residents in several neighbourhoods to organise night-long self-patrols to protect their lives and property.
In Rauzan upazila, at least ten homes—belonging to nine Hindu families and one Barua family—were set on fire in separate incidents during November and December.
In Banikpara of Sultanpur area under Ward No 5 of Rauzan Municipality, an entire room of a house was gutted. Homeowner Dipak Shil said everything inside the room was reduced to ashes.
He added that he had been given a Tk1 lakh financial grant provided by the office of the deputy inspector general (DIG) of police.
Other incidents were reported in multiple locations. In Keutia Buddhapara of Ward No 9 under Rauzan Union No 7, the kitchen of a house was completely destroyed by fire.
Nearby in Kulalpara, parts of the tin roofs and walls of two houses were damaged. In Ward No 8 of Rauzan Municipality, two rooms of Tejendra Shil’s house were partially burnt.
TIMES of Bangladesh spoke with five affected families and found that most have returned to their damaged homes after carrying out minimal, makeshift repairs.
The victims said all attacks took place in the early hours of the morning, between 3:30am and 4:00am. In each case, doors were reportedly locked from the outside before the houses were set on fire. None of the victims saw the perpetrators.
The families, mostly marginal farmers with no political affiliation, said they had lived peacefully in their communities for years without any known disputes.
On the night of 17 December, at around 3:30am, the homes of Adhir Pal and Prabhat Pal in Kulalpara village were set ablaze. Although the fire was detected early, the families were trapped inside as their doors had been locked from outside.
Neighbours rushed in after hearing their screams, broke open the doors and helped extinguish the fire before it caused major losses.
“We are very ordinary people,” said Adhir Pal. “We have no disputes with anyone and have never faced problems with people of other faiths. We do not know who attacked us or why.”
His wife, Swapna Pal, alleged that police initially suggested the family had set fire to their own house. “We want the real perpetrators to be identified and punished,” she said.
On the same night, another arson attack occurred in Barua Para, about half a kilometre away, where the kitchen and a haystack at Sadhan Barua’s home were burnt. The following night, on 19 December, similar attacks targeted homes in Dheuapara under Ward No 8, though neighbours again managed to prevent major damage.
Earlier, on 1 November, two houses were set on fire in Dabua Union of Rauzan. Sadeep De Sajib, president of the Rauzan Municipality Puja Udjapan Parishad, said the area had long enjoyed communal harmony but fear now prevails.
“We have formed our own patrol teams and a monitoring cell involving community leaders, the administration and local political parties,” he said.
Chattogram district Additional Superintendent of Police Russell claimed there was no security threat to minority families. He said five cases had been filed in connection with the incidents and seven people had been arrested.
At a press conference on 13 January, DIG of Chattogram Range Ahsan Habib Palash said the attacks were attempts to create communal tension and spread false narratives of minority persecution. He added that the arrested individuals were members of a banned organisation.
Police also recovered provocative banners hung at night outside minority homes, bearing incendiary messages and multiple mobile phone numbers.
