Hindu organisations based in Bangladesh have held protests against attacks on Hindu community in the nation. The city of Chittagong saw a protest march being held on Friday against the attack on the Hindu community. The killing of Hindu teachers and rape of Hindu women was protested by the people conducting the march, local media reported.
Hindu Sangbad, a Bangladesh news agency announced on Twitter, “Demonstrations by various Hindu organizations in Shahbagh and across the country were also held peacefully in protest against the barbaric radical Jihadi attack on Hindus in Narail Sahapara.”
A protest march is held today in Chittagong against the barbaric attacks on Hindus in #Narail, Bangladesh and the ongoing killing of Hindu teachers and rape of Hindu women. pic.twitter.com/xp6IuDPz21
— Hindu Sangbad – হিন্দু সংবাদ (@sangbad_bd) July 22, 2022
Earlier, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the government will ensure strict action against people who disturb communal harmony in the country, according to India Today.
The Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) instructed the Home Ministry to probe the attacks and find out if there was any negligence in preventing them. It added that violence in a ‘secular country’ is not at all acceptable.
According to ANI, the human rights body’s remarks came after reports of Hindu minorities being attacked in Bangladesh came to light amid rumours of alleged Facebook posts slandering Islam.
Homes belonging to Hindus were set on fire on July 15 in the Sahapara area of Lohagara, Narail. A mob indulged in setting the houses on fire after Friday prayers. Their excuse was that an 18-year-old man from the neighbourhood hurt their feelings by posting slanderous things against Islam.
According to locals, the post was made by Akash Saha, an 18-year-old college student in the village. They gathered after Friday prayers and protested in front of the student’s house, demanding his arrest.
The mob spread to neighbouring homes of Hindu minorities after it found out that the boy was missing. One of the victims whose house was burned down told the Daily Star, “After one group looted all our valuables, another group came and found our door open. As there was nothing left to loot, they set our home on fire.”
“I don’t know how long this threat of violence will haunt us. Who will give us justice? Who will give us security? If I were in the house while they set it on fire, I would have died. God saved me. But is this any way to survive? All I have now is the sari on my body,” she added.
The perpetrator Akash Saha’s father has been arrested to “bring the situation under control”, while police are prepared to take action against him under the Digital Security Act.
The Daily Star also reported that none of the attackers had been arrested yet.
