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Bangladesh interim government once again downplays communal violence against Hindus and other minorities, claims they were political attacks

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reported that 2,010 incidents of communal violence occurred in the country between 4th August and 20th August.

On 11th January, the interim government of Bangladesh once again downplayed the violence against Hindus and other minority groups in the country, stating that they were “politically motivated” and not communal. The claim by the government came after an alleged police investigation into the incidents of violence that erupted in the country following the fall of the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina’s regime.

According to a report in Bangladeshi news outlet Dhaka Tribune, the police investigation said that 98.4% of the 1,415 reported incidents of attacks and vandalism against minorities in the country were “politically motivated.” The report suggested that only 1.59% of the incidents occurred due to communal reasons. The police “findings” were shared by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’s press wing.

Notably, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reported that 2,010 incidents of communal violence occurred in the country between 4th August and 20th August. However, experts believe that the number of incidents could have been much higher than those reported.

According to the report, police claimed that there were 1,769 cases of reported attacks and vandalism, out of which investigations into 1,415 incidents were completed. The investigations into 354 cases are still underway. Among the investigated cases, 1,254 were found to be substantiated while, according to Bangladeshi authorities, 161 lacked evidence.

The report read, “The investigation involved visiting the affected locations, communicating with institutions and individuals involved, and encouraging victims to formally file complaints.”

The data shared by the police said that out of 1,769 cases, 1,452 incidents occurred on a single day, 5th August, following the fall of Hasina’s regime. Furthermore, the report suggested that 134 additional communal violence cases were reported until 8th January.

The Yunus administration, while downplaying the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, maintained that they have a “zero-tolerance policy” towards any communal attacks in the country.

Attack on Hindus in Bangladesh since the fall of Dhaka

While the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had deliberately avoided documenting the plight of Bangladesh Hindus, OpIndia had been vetting and reporting cases of atrocities since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.

There have been at least 205 attacks on Hindu temples, shops and businesses within 3 days of the fall of Dhaka.

We previously exposed how Muslim students have forced as many as 60 Hindu teachers, professors and government officials to resign from their positions.

Human rights activist and exiled Bangladeshi blogger, Asad Noor, has recently revealed that the minority community is now being coerced into joining ‘Jamaat-e-Islami’.

On 6th September, a procession of Hindu devotees carrying the idol of Lord Ganesha came under attack in the Kadam Mubarak area in Chittagong city of Bangladesh.

Ahead of the Durga Puja celebrations, a radical Muslim man named Yasin Mia vandalised the idols of Goddess Durga and other Hindu deities in Gouripur town in the Mymensingh district of Bangladesh on 25th September.

In the latest series of attacks, idols of Goddess Durga and other Hindu deities were vandalised at the Rishipara Barwari Puja Mandap and the Manikadi Palpara Barwari Pujamandap on 28th September and 1st October respectively.

The attacks were carried out in Sujanagar upazila in Pabna district in Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh. While a total of 4 idols were defaced at the Rishipara Barwari Puja Mandap, another 5 Hindu idols were destroyed at the Manikadi Palpara Barwari Pujamandap.

On 3rd October, 7 idols of Hindu deities were destroyed at the Gopinath Jiur Akhara Durga Puja mandap in Kishoreganj, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh.

On 5th November, the Hindu community came under attack from police and law enforcement authorities in Hazari Goli in Chittagong city of Bangladesh.

On 29th November, a violent Muslim mob attacked Hindu minorities and vandalised 3 temples in Patharghata in Chittagong district of Bangladesh.

The Hindu religious sites that the Muslims targeted included the Shantaneshwari Matri Temple, the Shoni Temple, and Shantaneshwari Kalibari Temple. The attack took place immediately after the conclusion of Jumma Namaz

On 30th November, a prominent Hindu journalist named Munni Saha was arrested by the police from Karwan Bazar in Dhaka city of Bangladesh.

A group of extremists attacked the Mahashmashan Kali Mata Mandir, vandalised 7 idols of deities and stole gold ornaments on 13th December 2024.

On 19th December, a Muslim man identified as Alal Uddin vandalised an idol at the Polashkanda Kali Temple and then attempted to create a fake alibi. The incident occurred in Haluaghat upazila in the Mymensingh district of Bangladesh.

Another 37-year-old Muslim man identified as Azharul vandalised several idols of deities in Haluaghat Upazila in the Mymensingh district of Bangladesh.

The recent arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu and his aides, attempts at banning Hindu organisation ISKCON and stiffling Hindu protests with cases of ‘sedition’ highlight systematic persecution under the interim government of Muhammad Yunus.

There have been multiple instances of attacks on Hindus under the pretext of ‘blasphemy.’ The recent cases of Hridoy PalUtsab MandalPartha Biswas PintuAkash Das and Utsab Kumar Gian are shining examples of targeted persecution.

There have been many attempts to downplay violence against Hindus as ‘fake‘, ‘exaggerated‘ or ‘politically motivated‘.

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OpIndia Staff
OpIndia Staffhttps://www.opindia.com
Staff reporter at OpIndia

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