15 hurt as Christians' human chain attacked

Fifteen people including 10 women were injured in an attack on a human chain of Christian community yesterday.

The human chain was organised in protest against the move to fill up an old pond belonging to Barisal Saint Peter's Church to construct a court building.

The attackers allegedly led by a few lawyers snatched away banners, placards and festoons of the human chain and attacked the participants around 10:40am, said the victims.

Among the injured, Irani Bepari, Manju Baroi, Sima Biswas, Maria Biswas, Ava Haldar, Shefali Boiragi, Sandhya Majumdar, Lila Bala, Alo Haldar, Paul, Shudhir Hajra, Robin Mandal -- all belonging to the Christian community, and Saiful Islam, a local journalist, received treatment at different clinics.

Later police rushed to the spot, escorted the Christian community people to a safer place, and helped them to form a human chain near Ashwini Kumar Hall around 11:10am, said Kabir Hossain, sub inspector of Kotwali Police Station.

The programme was addressed, among others, by Father Rinku Gomes, head of the church, Norbert Nipu Adhikari, president of Barisal Christian Association, Shanti Mandal, representative of Church of Bangladesh in Barisal.

Condemning the attack, the speakers said Public Works Department on Friday started filling the pond of Barisal Saint Peter's Church for construction of a 10-storied court building adjacent to Barisal District and Sessions Judge's Court complex.

The 52-decimal pond was excavated for bathing of Christians during their baptizing at Barisal Saint Peter's Church that was constructed in 1849 on 1.5 acres of leased land during the British period.

Advocate Anis Uddin Shahid, president of Barisal District Bar Association, said, "Lawyers did not attack the human chain. Rather they became victim of attack. The pond is not usable and as the construction would be done for the public interest, it would not violate the Environment Act."

"PWD started filling the pond for construction of a 10-storied Judicial Magistrate's Court building at a cost of Tk 27 crore," he said. 

Lincoln Bayen, district coordinator of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, said the pond is still used by a lot of people daily and marked as 'reserved' by PWD. 

"Any construction by filling any water bodies used by public is violation of the Environment Act. There are a lot of lands inside the court compound that can be selected for the proposed construction," he said.