Bangladesh Police have taken quick cognisance of alleged desecration of three temples on Friday, and registered complaints. According to a report in India Today, members of Bangladesh’s minority Hindu community have also staged protests demanding that the culprits who allegedly hung polythene bags raw continuing raw beef “on the doors of three Hindu temples and a house in Gendukuri village of Lalmonirhat district’s Hatibandha upazila in the early hours of Friday.” Four complaints were filed with Hatibandha Police Station Friday night, reported the Daily Star newspaper.
The Hindu community members staged protests at the Sri Sri Radha Govinda temple in the village, on Saturday, demanding that the culprits be arrested. According to an India Today report Dilip Kumar Singh, president of Hatibandha Upazila Puja Udjapan Parishad, alleged that “raw beef in polythene bags were hung over the doors of Gendukuri Camp Para Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, Gendukuri Kuthipara Kali Mandir, Gendukuri Battala Kali Mandir and Monindranath Barman’s house” and the police arrived when they were alerted by the locals. According to Dilip Kumar Singh, this incident could be linked to the local union parishad polls held on December 26. “Police have assured us that the culprits will be arrested,” he added. Hatibandha Police Station Officer-in-Charge Ershadul Alam told the media that they were investigating the incident and “all involved will be brought to book.”
In October 2021, disturbing incidents of vandalism were reported from Hindu temples in Chandpur’s Hajiganj, Chattogram’s Banshkhali and Cox’s Bazar’s Pekua, in Bangladesh. That this happened during Durga Puja, a festival dear to Bengalis across the globe made it even more disturbing. Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina had announced that the people behind the violence during Durga puja in Cumilla city will be hunted down and given “appropriate punishments” in order to stop the recurrence of such communal acts. She assured the Hindu community saying, “This land belongs to you, you have your rights. Don’t consider yourselves as minorities, you should have this confidence.” The Bangladesh government was forced to deploy paramilitary forces in 22 districts. After this news surfaced, Tripura in India, saw “retaliatory targeted violence” where Muslims were targeted and certain homegrown extremist groups took the law into their own hands. Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) wrote to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) over the targeted attacks experienced by members of the Muslim minority in Tripura.
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