300 DETAINED IN BANGLADESH AMID RIOTS TRIGGERED BY QURAN DEFILING

Mon 18 October 2021:

According to law enforcement authorities, police in Bangladesh have detained at least 300 people for destroying and vandalizing Hindu temples across the country following unrest sparked by the claimed destruction of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, during a Hindu religious rite last week.

After a photo of the Quran being put on the knee of a Hindu deity during Durga Puja festival celebrations in the east-central region of Comilla went viral on social media on Wednesday, violence erupted across Bangladesh.

Cumilla Bangladesh The Holy Quran At Under Murti Puja pic.twitter.com/x3RGdUeijg

— Shajahan Azad (@shajahanazad) October 13, 2021

Angry mobs attacked Hindu temples and clashed with police in various parts of Bangladesh in the following days, leaving at least six people, including two Hindus, dead and more than 100 injured.

“Two men have died since yesterday’s attack. We are working to find the culprits,” district police chief Shahidul Islam told AFP news agency.

The Hindu community makes up about 10 percent of Bangladesh’s 165 million population.

At least four others were killed late on Wednesday when police opened fire on a crowd of about 500 people attacking a Hindu temple in Hajiganj, one of several towns hit by the disturbances.

Thousands of Muslim demonstrators threw bricks at police in the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong, leading police to use tear gas and rubber bullets.

In an apparent attempt to prevent the violence from spreading, high-speed mobile phone internet services were cut off.

ISKCON temple & devotees were violently attacked today by a mob in Noakhali, Bangladesh. Temple suffered significant damage & the condition of a devotee remains critical.

We call on the Govt of Bangladesh to ensure the safety of all Hindus & bring the perpetrators to justice. pic.twitter.com/ZpHtB48lZi

— ISKCON (@iskcon) October 15, 2021

At least 35 Hindu temples in several districts, mostly Comilla and the port city of Chattogram, have been reportedly attacked, raising communal tensions.

Police have filed 50 cases, including in the capital Dhaka, charging at least 10,000 people in connection with the incidents.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Kamal told the media Sunday that police were investigating the issue.

“We hope that we will be able to arrest the guilty who have vandalized the temples and prompted the violence,” he said.

He added that a “third party” may be involved in the anarchy to tarnish the long-prevailing communal harmony and tolerance in Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi media reports on Sunday said at least 20 homes belonging to Hindus were torched in Rangpur city’s Pirganj neighbourhood.

Tension in the area mounted following allegations that a Hindu man’s Facebook post dishonoured Islam, the bdnews website quoted a police official as saying.

The incident came a day after some 10,000 protesters – many of them carrying banners of Islamist political parties – took to the streets outside Dhaka’s main mosque.

The crowd chanted “Down with the enemies of the Islam” and “Hang the culprits”.

“We ask the government to arrest those who defamed the Quran by putting it at the feet of an idol in Cumilla,” Mosaddek Billah al-Madani, president of Bangladesh’s Islami Movement. He added that protesters demanded “the death sentence” for those responsible for the images.

Separately, in a nearby intersection, about 1,000 Hindus protested against the attacks on temples and the killing of two Hindu devotees in another district where several temples were vandalised by Muslim mobs.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met leaders of the Hindu community on Thursday and promised stern action.

_____________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent