Top ranking leaders of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami (now illegal) have been found involved in the recent communal attacks at different places in the country, said police officials and the government as well.
A number of Hindu temples, Durga puja mandaps, residents, and business establishments were attacked, burnt, ransacked, and looted by the fanatics. In the attacks, people from the Hindu community also died, sustained injuries.
The communal attacks ensued when a man named Iqbal put a copy of the holy Quran inside a puja mandap in Cumilla and vested quarters spread rumours of desecreting the holy Quran.
According to sources, over 70 cases have been so far filed accusing around 21,000 people in connection with violence against the Hindu community. Of them, around 600 people have been arrested so far while drives to arrest the suspected culprits were underway, according to official source.
Police and government officials claimed that backed by BNP, Jamaat and a vested quarter the bigots were instigated to fish in troubled waters. They also did it to topple down the government and tarnish the image of the country by destroying the country’s communal harmony.
Meanwhile, police in Feni district said that at least 15 leaders from BNP and Jamaat, including BNP’s vice-chairman Barkat Ullah Bulu instigated the communal attacks in Noakhali's Chowmuhani temples.
"Detained Swechchwasebak Dal leader Faisal Inam Kamol gave a confessional statement before a court mentioning the names of BNP-Jamaat leaders," Noakhali Police Superintendent Md Shahidul Islam made the disclosure in a press briefing on Tuesday.
Another arrestee admitted that they looted Tk1.35 lakh from Ram Thakur Temple on Chowmuhani Bank road on the day of attack.
A copy of the Holy Quran was found on an idol at the Nanuar Dighi puja mandap in Cumilla on 13 October.
Centring the incident, zealots carried out provocative and distorted propaganda and attacked puja mandaps and Hindu communities in some districts. Some temples in Noakhali's Chowmuhani were vandalised too.
Noakhali police arrested eight more people from different areas in the last 24 hours in connection with the attacks.
The police superintendent said that Kamol, arrested in a case filed under Digital Security Act (DSA), was produced before Noakhali Senior Judicial Magistrate’s court Judge Saidin Nahi on Monday night.
"The court recorded his confessional statement under Section 164. In his statement, he mentioned the names of 15 BNP-Jamaat men including Bulu," the SP added.
Kamol had shared provocative posts after the Cumilla incident to trigger communal violence.
A case was filed under DSA with Begumganj Model Police Station on Monday mentioning Komol as the instigator of the attacks.
The Cumilla incident triggered a spate of communal attacks on puja mandaps and temples in several parts of the country that continued for 4-5 days. At least seven people died during these attacks.
Police arrested the man who put the Quran at the Nanuar Dighi puja mandap.
Besides, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Tuesday said that many people, who are known faces, are found to be involved in the communal attacks.
The home minister also said that the dark green-coloured copy of the Quran recovered from Cumilla puja mandap was brought to Bangladesh from Saudi Arabia.
"Many people bring copies of the Holy Quran from Saudi Arabia while returning from the Hajj.
"Such a copy of the holy Quran was donated to the mosque located in the Nanuar Dighi area," the minister said while addressing the press at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
"We have identified the instigators behind the recent incidents of communal violence in different parts of the country. A total of 64 people have so far been detained in connection with the Cumilla incident.
"Of them, 18 have been shown arrested. We now also know the names of the perpetrators responsible for the chaos in Noakhali," Kamal added.
On 13 October, around 7:30 am, a copy of the Holy Quran was planted on an idol at the Nanuar Dighi puja mandap under Cumilla Sadar police station.
Centering the incident, zealots carried out provocative and distorted propaganda.
They tried to vandalize the idol and threw bricks at the mandap. They also carried out attacks and set fire several other mandaps on fire in the district.
Attacks were carried out in several other districts in the country afterwards that left seven people dead.