A group of protesters set fire to the house of former MP and
suspended Awami League district general secretary Nizam Uddin Hazari in Feni
town on Monday night.
The incident took place around 8pm in the Masterpara area,
shortly after the International Crimes Tribunal announced the death sentence of
Sheikh Hasina.
According to witnesses, the protesters set fire to the gate
and boundary wall of the house.
The building had already been destroyed during earlier
attacks, so no new major damage was reported.
The protesters chanted slogans demanding punishment for
Hazari and others.
They gathered wooden sticks and bamboo in front of the main
gate and set them alight, though no one managed to enter the house.
Muhaymin Tajim, former coordinator of the Students Against
Discrimination (SAD) in Feni, said, “The administration has failed to take
legal action over previous incidents of arson carried out by Awami League
activists, including the attack on the July Martyrs’ Memorial. This inaction is
encouraging repeated incidents. We are on the streets to resist it.”
He demanded quick trials for those who attacked students in
Feni, similar to the tribunal verdict against Sheikh Hasina.
Another former coordinator, Omar Faruk, said that the attack
on Hazari’s house was a response to the arson at the July Memorial.
He also added that a similar verdict should be delivered
against Nizam Hazari and also against Shushen.
Shushen is the convener of the Feni municipality unit of the
Awami League and a former upazila chairman.
Earlier in the evening, protesters vandalised and defaced
nameplates carrying photos and names of Awami League leaders near the Feni
Government College gate.
Md Shamsuzzaman, Officer-in-Charge of Feni Model Police
Station, said, “Police rushed to the spot after receiving reports of the fire
and fire service teams extinguished the flames in front of the house. The
situation is now under control. Only the gate was slightly burnt. There was no
major damage.”
The same house was attacked, looted and burnt on August 5
last year.
Earlier on Monday, the International Crimes Tribunal
sentenced Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to
death for genocide committed during the July–August uprising.