In yet another attack on Hindus in Bangladesh, a Kali temple in Dautiya village in Bangladesh’s Jhenaidah district was attacked on Friday, October 7. The Kali idol was found smashed into pieces, with the head of the idol discovered around half a kilometer away from the temple premises. The incident came to the fore just a day after the conclusion of the 10-day-long Durga Puja festival, the biggest celebration for Hindus in Bengal.
The perpetrators behind the attack have not been identified yet, and authorities have launched a manhunt to identify and arrest the suspects. The temple, which has been frequented by Maa Kali devotees since British times, is located in the western part of Bangladesh. General Secretary of Bangladesh Puja Celebration Council, Chandanath Poddar said that the attack took place at the temple during the night, and authorities discovered the shattered idol on Friday morning.
Amit Kumar Burman, assistant superintendent of Jhenaidah police said, “A case has been registered and the suspects are being traced. Barring this incident, this year Durga Puja festival was celebrated peacefully across Bangladesh.”
It is notable that last year, in 2021, Durga Puja celebrations faced a wave of attacks by Islamists. Temples in Chandpur’s Hajiganj, Chattogram’s Banshkhali, Chapainawabganj’s Shibganj, and Cox’s Bazar’s Pekua were brutally attacked with the Hindu devotees being thrashed. At least six people were killed and hundreds were injured as Islamists openly targeted Hindus in the country.
Not the first attack on a Hindu temple in Bangladesh in recent months
This is not the first case of a Hindu temple coming under attack in Bangladesh in recent months. Ahead of Durga Puja in September, unknown vandals smashed the idols at the Kashipur Sarbajanin Durga Temple in Mehendiganj Upazila in Barisal.
Earlier in August, three madrasa students were detained by authorities on August 6 for allegedly damaging Hindu deity statues at the Kainmari temple in Mongla Upazila in Bangladesh. The incident happened after several Muslim youngsters from the madrasa were requested by the temple management to stop playing football on the field next to the temple.
On July 16, it was reported that a Muslim mob vandalized a temple, a grocery shop, and many Hindu homes in the Sahapara region of Lohagara, Narail, merely over a Facebook post.
