http:/www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/00102164560.htm
DHAKA, BANGLADESH, January 2, 2004: Thirty people were injured, five of them seriously, when a group of armed attackers led by a local BNP leader allegedly set fire to 20 houses belonging to minority Hindus in Bangladesh on the first day of the New Year. The minority Hindu houses at Lalpur Village of the northern Natore district were set on fire in broad daylight by assailants led by Moslemuddin, the local leader of the ruling BNP, reported The Daily Janakantha newspaper. At least 30 people were injured in the incident with five people hospitalized in serious condition. Four people remained missing following the incident, the reports said, adding the attackers also indulged in looting and destroying property. Quoting the victims, Janakantha said the attack centered around the possession of a pond and land area. A case regarding a property dispute is pending in the court. The victims were mainly farmers engaged in making jaggery. All the equipment needed for jaggery-making was destroyed in the attack, the reports said. Minorities, including Hindus, Buddhists and Christians, constitute between 11 and 12 percent of Bangladesh’s population of 140 million. Hindus make up nearly 90 percent of the minorities.