Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 18: Over 65 houses of Hindus were vandalized and some 20 set on fire as communal clashes continued in Bangladesh over an alleged blasphemous act by the minority community posted on social media sparking attacks on Durga Puja pandals, media reports said on Monday.
The arson attack happened late on Sunday at a village about 255 km from capital city of Dhaka, the reports said. The police rushed to a colony of fishermen as tension mounted over a rumour that a young Hindu man from the village had “dishonoured religion” in a Facebook post, the report quoted district’s superintendent of police Mohammad Qamruzzaman as saying.
As the police stood guard around the man’s home, the attackers set fire to other homes nearby, the report said. The Fire Service Control Room said their report from the scene indicates that 29 residential houses, two kitchens, two barns and 20 haystacks belonging to 15 different people were torched in Majhipara, adding that an “unruly crowd” has been identified as the cause of fire.
The fire service received a report of the fire at 8:45 PM and finally put it out by 4:10 AM, the report said. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The arson comes at a time when there is a rising communal tension over an alleged incident of blasphemy at a Durga Puja venue in Cumilla in Bangladesh’s Chittagong division which led to attacks on Hindu temples and clashes between vandals and the police in Cumilla, Chandpur, Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Moulvibazar, Gazipur, Chapainawabganj, Feni and other districts.
Dozens have been arrested over the attacks and the spread of communal hatred on social media, the report said. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council alleged that at least four Hindu devotees have died in the attacks in Chandpur and Noakhali.
Meanwhile, the elite anti-crime force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested two more men in connection with the looting and vandalism of temples and shops belonging to the Hindu community in Feni, about 155 km from Dhaka. “They were arrested for their involvement in communal violence and inciting people on social media. They were handed over to the local police station,” said Imran Khan, assistant director of the paramilitary force’s Legal and Media Wing.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised to bring to justice the culprits behind the violence, saying anyone involved in the attacks on Hindu temples and Durga Puja venues in Cumilla would not be spared.
“The incidents in Cumilla are being thoroughly investigated. Nobody will be spared. It doesn’t matter which religion they belong to. They will be hunted down and punished,” she said while exchanging greetings with the Hindu community members during an event at Dhakeshwari National Temple in Dhaka on the occasion of Durga Puja.
During the Durga Puja violence last week, at least six people were killed and hundreds injured while several incidents of attacks on places of worship of minority communities by unidentified Muslim men were reported from across the country.
Tensions in the country escalated on Wednesday after widely circulated footage on social media alleged an incident of blasphemy during the Durga Puja celebrations in the eastern district of Cumilla.
Incidents of vandalism were reported from Hindu temples in Chandpur’s Hajiganj, Chattogram’s Banshkhali and Cox’s Bazar’s Pekua, a report by bdnews24.com.
Sources said the possible involvement of Islamic extremist groups in Bangladesh trying to stir up trouble and cause communal conflict between the two communities is being investigated.
Sporadic attacks and vandalism were also reported on Friday, with authorities issuing prohibitory orders in the Noakhali district, banning public gatherings from dawn to dusk. The media also reported that thousands of people clashed with police in Dhaka after the main Friday prayers.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Sajjad Hossain said several people were injured as police used lathicharge and tear gas to disperse the crowd. The protesters shouted anti-India slogans and accused Hasina of “being close with New Delhi”.
On Saturday, nearly 10,000 demonstrators again gathered outside the main mosque in the capital, many were seen with banners of Islamist political parties as the crowd chanted, “Down with the enemies of the Islam” and “Hang the culprits.”
Local Media reports on Sunday again reported of Hindu temples and shops being vandalised in Feni, Hindu temples and shops being vandalized in Feni, about 160 kilometres from Dhaka. The media reports said the clashes broke out after an attack on demonstrators who were protesting against the attacks on Durga Puja venues in several places in Bangladesh.
The attacks also prompted the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council to announce a sit-in and hunger strike from October 23 in protest. Milan Kanti Dutta, president of the forum, said they would launch a tougher movement if the government did not pay heed to their demand.
The Bangladesh prime minister has said she hoped that India would take steps against any reaction at home, as it could have a fallout in Bangladesh. “We expect that nothing happens there (in India) which could influence any situation in Bangladesh, affecting our Hindu community here…,” she said.
Hasina also reassured representatives of the Hindu community — who form about 10% of Bangladesh’s 169 million population — that they were taking all precautions to ensure there was no further violence during.
In India, the West Bengal government on Monday alerted its district administrations, particularly those bordering Bangladesh, against the misuse of social media and circulation of fake news related to the recent spate of attacks during Durga puja in the neighbouring country.
Meanwhile, following reports of vandalism at an ISKCON temple in Bangladesh and the killing of an ashram devotee, vice-president of ISKCON, Kolkata, Radharaman Das wrote to the United Nations, requesting the world body to send a delegation to the neighbouring country to look into the matter. He also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to hold talks with his Bangladesh counterpart to end the ongoing ‘violence’ on Hindu minorities.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb also expressed concern over the vandalism of temples, but also expressed confidence that the government led by Sheikh Hasina will take action against the culprits.