New Delhi: For the ISI and Jamaat-e-Islami, targeting the minorities is part of a larger plan. Both want the minorities to be erased from the country, so that Bangladesh can turn into a full-fledged Islamic nation. However for those executing the killings on the field, this has turned into a full-fledged extortion racket.
Officials say that what is worse is that the establishment is doing nothing to prevent this.
In most of the cases where minorities, especially Hindus have been murdered, the killers have first demanded money and if the same is not paid, then they are killed.
These killers are taking full advantage of the system and are trying to earn a quick buck, officials say.
Another official said that there is no particular hit-list that has been formed. They just randomly target a person. They reach out to the person, ask them for money and if they do not pay the same, then they are killed.
Take the case of Sarat Chakraborty, who was killed by a mob. Just two days before his death, radical elements demanded a huge sum of money from him. He was also threatened with his wife’s abduction if the money was not paid. Since he could not pay up, he was killed brutally.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that these killings are completely institutionalised.
A similar script that Pakistan has been following for years is now being implemented in Bangladesh on a very large scale.
The ISI and Jamaat want the minorities wiped out and those implementing these killings are trying to earn money by running an extortion racket, the officer added.
The larger game plan that the ISI has in mind is to make every Bangladeshi hate Indians, Hindus and other minorities. The agency hopes that these killings would have an effect in India so that communal clashes take place.
With these killings they are trying to instigate the Hindus in India so that the clashes spread far and wide, an official added.
Another official said that these killings are unlikely to stop. These radicals have the backing of the Muhammad Yunus-led establishment. If one looks at the investigations that are being carried out, it clearly shows that the police are not interested in closing the case. Instead, the police have been diluting the cases and even those who have been arrested are not punished.
The administration is aware that if harsh punishments are handed out, then there is a chance that this targeting would end. The manner in which the cases are being handled and killings are taking place, it clearly shows that there is a lot of meddling by Pakistan.
The country is clearly trying to weaponise religious identity to destabilise neighbours. It did this in Jammu and Kashmir, Kabul and now Bangladesh.
Further the ISI has also been trying to ensure that Dhaka’s strategic autonomy becomes weaker and the country remains insecure at all times.
Added to this, the ISI has also added the India angle to it, by blaming New Delhi for all the wrong-doings that are taking place in Bangladesh.
While the elections are a month away, the ISI is trying to create a situation whereby the entire country becomes anti-India. There are also attempts being made to postpone the elections.
This week a March for Justice demanding a through probe into the killing of student leader Osman Hadi was carried out. The march was more about demanding a ban on Indians in Bangladesh rather than seeking justice for Hadi’s death.
Intelligence Bureau officials say that there is a dangerous precedent that is setting in. The radicals who have been roped in to carry out the minority killings will continue to do so while also trying to earn money.
Very soon, the minority community is likely to dole out money to these extortionists to keep themselves, their families and properties intact, officials also warn.
(IANS)
