Violations of Religious Freedom in 2010 at a Glance Attacks against the Hindu community continued in 2010, although the number of attacks dropped significantly from the previous year. Most of the land seizures took place in the districts of Natore, Pirojpur, Chittagong, Narsingdi, Bagerhat, Barisal, Manikganj, Tangail, Satkhira, Pabna, Manikganj, and Munshiganj. In July, The Daily Star reported that ‘land-grabbers’ had encroached on the properties of all three Hindu cremation grounds in the Dhaka metropolitan area. On August 12, the Amar Desh reported that criminals broke into a Hindu temple in the Sutrapur area of Old Dhaka and broke several idols before evicting fifteen Hindu families who lived on the premises. Another paper, the daily Ittefaq, reported that over one hundred minority families living in Sutrapur had been forcibly evicted by land grabbers during the year. Both papers alleged that local Awami League leaders were involved in the evictions. On March 20, according to the Daily Star, a clash over a land dispute involving a Christian church in the Mithapukur upazila resulted in injuries to 20 of the involved parties. The church purchased some adjacent land that was previously used as a school playground. Local MPs worked to defuse the tension and managed to avert further violence. There were approximately 100,000 Ahmadis concentrated in Dhaka and several other locales. Throughout the year, attacks directed at the Ahmadia community in Tangail resulted in physical injuries and significant property damage. The attacks happened in three waves in June, August, and October. The attacks consisted of small groups entering Ahmadi neighborhoods with weapons, beating Ahmadis they encountered and vandalizing several houses before leaving. The authorities made no arrests, but a few local figures issued statements about the need to live in harmony. Source: US Department of State, International Religious Freedom Report, July-December 2010 (September 13, 2011) 86