Attacks on Noakhali puja venues:  Three suspects give confessional statements

Three more suspects in the recent attacks on Hindu places of worship in Noakhali have given confessional statements to a court.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Nabanita Guha recorded the statements made by Ripon Ahammed Mahir, Arafat Hossain Rajib and Ibrahim Khalil Rajib under section 164 of Code of Criminal Procedure on Saturday, according to Noakhali's Superintendent of Police Md Shahidul Islam.

Another suspect, 19-year-old Abdur Rahim Sujon, had given his confessional statement on Thursday.

Police identified Sujon from video footage of the attacks on a Hindu temple and puja venues in Choumuhoni before arresting him in Karimpur on Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.

Three others were also arrested on Saturday and they later admitted to their involvement in the attacks during the initial interrogation, said Shahidul.

On October 15, the last day of Durga Puja, the assailants attacked, vandalised and set fire on the places of worship and homes of Hindus in Noakhali’s Choumuhani. A person died from cardiac arrest during the attacks while police recovered another body from a pond the next day.

Police arrested as many as 119 people in 10 cases filed over the attacks. Among them, 63 are named in the case documents and 59 are unnamed suspects, they said.