C T Online Desk: It has been almost 10 years since the attack on Buddhist monasteries and communities in Ramu upazila of Cox’s Bazar took place, but the trial is still nowhere near a conclusion.
Locals said the case was not making any progress as witnesses were reluctant to testify in court.
On September 29, 2012, a Buddhist youth named Uttam Barua was allegedly found tagged in a picture that insulted the Prophet (pbuh) and the Quran.
Miscreants attacked, looted, and set fire to 12 Buddhist monasteries, shrines, and 30 homes of the Buddist community in Ramu upazila on the same day.
Later, on the night of September 30, seven more Buddhist monasteries and 11 houses were torched in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas.
The government rebuilt the damaged temples and homes immediately after the attack. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Buddhist temples on September 3, 2013.
As many as 19 cases against some 1,500 unidentified persons and 378 named individuals were filed. However, only one case, in which a Buddhist was a plaintiff, was disposed of, said Public Prosecutor Faridul Alam of the local District and Sessions Judges Court.
Later, the police submitted chargesheets against 1,020 accused in 18 cases in court, he added.
Despite 10 years having elapsed since the incident, the local Buddhist community still holds out hope for justice, believing that it will keep amity among the various religious communities intact.
Rupan Barua, a resident of Rajarakul in Ramu, said people of all faiths were now living in harmony in the upazila.
“At present the trial is stalled as witnesses are reluctant to testify in court. All we ask for is that those guilty are punished, so that all communities can live in harmony,” he added.
Cox’s Bazar Boudhho Shurokkha Parishad (Buddhist Protection Council) Chairman Progyanando Bhikkhu said progress in the prosecution of the cases had slowed down in the 10 years since the violence was perpetrated.
“Many of the victims do not want to come forward and testify in court. From the outside, they show that everything is going on fine. Due to this, the proceedings of the cases have stalled.”
He said he hoped that the cases could be resolved through coordination between the state parties and the victim witnesses.
Attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are not something new.
The Ramu attack of 2012, the 2016 attack in Nasirnagar, and the October 2021 attacks in several districts made headlines, but thousands of other incidents did not receive such attention.
At least 1,642 Hindu houses were attacked, destroyed, or set on fire while 456 businesses suffered the same fate between 2013 and June 2022, according to data compiled from news reports by the rights group Ain O Salish Kendra.
As many as 1,807 temples, monasteries, and statues were attacked or vandalized.
At least 13 people were killed and 1,037 were injured in different incidents over the same period.
