CHATTOGRAM, BANGLADESH: Jiten Kanti Guho, a former president of the local unit of the Awami League, was tied up to a tree and beaten up last week in an incident that created ripples in Bangladesh.
While the local minority community leaders termed it as a case of a communal attack on minorities in Bangladesh, the ruling party is terming it a local political rivalry.
It was alleged that Guho’s shirt was taken off and he was beaten up in Hayndgaon union under Patiya Upazila in Chattogram, allegedly by the local Union Parishad chairman BM Jasim and his followers. He was admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital.
Guho is a former secretary of Chattogram Dakshin Zila Puja Udjapan Parishad, a committee for arranging pujas and is also the vice-president of Chittagong South of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad, a local interfaith organisation.
Jashim was apparently furious at Guho for not inviting him to the local iftar mahfil in Hayndgaon. A video went viral and drew massive anger on Friday.
Police arrested Jasim, and his son Mushfique Uddin in connection with the case. “One more accused in the case will be arrested,” a Chatro League, the student wing of Awami League, leader, told The New Indian.
Muhammad Hasan Mahmud, Information Minister of Bangladesh, who is elected from the Chhatogram area, went to the hospital to meet Guho. He firmly stated that no one will be spared and the case will be taken seriously.
The locals and Awami League workers said the incident is the result of the frictions and rivalries in the party.
Speaking to The New Indian, Taslim Uddin Rana, a member of the Finance and Planning sub-committee of the Awami League said, “Jitenda is a victim of political rivalry. We will ensure safety and security for him. Two persons are already arrested and one more will most likely be arrested. We will follow the legal procedure strictly.”
“There are politics of grouping,” Rana added after he and other Awami Leaders met Guho and took stock of the situation in the Patua area.
“Few are saying that he was beaten because he belongs to the Hindu community but that’s not the case. This is a political rivalry, not an act of torturing minority,” commented a person from Dhaka who followed the development.
Speaking to The New Indian, Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist Christian Unity Council, however, said, “Filthy politics have severely affected politics in Bangladesh. It has affected the ruling party as well as the opposition.”
“The incident that happened with Jiten Guho is the latest expression of terror-minded politics. In this attack we find an act of terror and an act of communal attack on the minority community,” Dasgupta said after visiting Guho in the hospital.