Burial of Ahmadiyya woman obstructed
B'baria bigots force authorities to set up separate graveyard
Our Correspondent, B'baria
Bigots yesterday forced authorities to set up a separate graveyard for Ahmadiyyas to bury a woman of the sect in Nabinagar upazila.
A brawl between the bigots, who are agitating for declaring Ahmadiyyas non-Muslim for long, and the sect delayed burial of Mortuzan Nesa, 70, for 22 hours.
Central leaders of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Bangladesh protested against the obstruction to the burial, saying the authorities surrendered to the anti-Ahmadiyya elements.
Earlier on Tuesday, tension gripped Shahbazpur village when the Ahmadiyya community was preparing interment of Mortuzan, a domestic help who died at 4:30pm of old age complications.
Locals gathered in scores and opposed the Ahmadiyyas, saying the community members are non-Muslims and cannot be buried at a Muslim graveyard.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abdus Sattar and Officer-in-Charge of Nabinagar Police Station Golam Faruq turned up in the evening and tried to settle the matter in vain.
Over 5,000 bigots assembled in the early morning yesterday to settle the dispute in arbitration. They handed down a decision that Mortuzan 'lost her eligibility to be buried at Muslims' graveyard' as she had embraced Ahmadiyya belief three years ago.
The authorities finally decided to set up a separate graveyard for the Ahmadiyyas on three and half decimals of land where the woman was buried at 2:30pm.
Locals said Mortuzan's family had contributed land for the village graveyard where the Ahmadiyyas claim to have buried their community members earlier.
Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/01/19/d6011901044.htm