A day after radical Islamist mobs attacked Durga Puja pandals in Comilla, the chief of the police’s Chittagong Range informed that 43 accused were arrested on Thursday (October 14).
Dhaka Tribune reported that the police had detained one Fayez Uddin, the accused who posted the video of a Quran inside a Comilla temple. The cops had been questioning him and cross verifying the facts. While speaking about the matter, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Anwar Hossain remarked, “Investigators are going through security camera footages to identify those behind the matters and the perpetrators will be brought to justice.”To prevent any law and order situation, additional security measures were taken. According to Deputy Commissioner (Comilla) Kamrul Hasan, the investigation team had been asked to submit their findings within 3 working days.
Citing sources, Hindustan Times reported that the Jamaat-e-Islami had been fanning communal sentiments in Bangladesh ever since the Taliban took over Kabul. With the objective of ‘Bangladesh Banega Afghanistan‘, JEI has been mobilising the radical Islamists in the country against the minorities and the Sheikh Hasina government. A diplomat in Dhaka said, “The basic idea behind October 13 incident was to embarrass Bangladesh’s government credentials and force a reaction from India.”
PM Sheikh Hasina assures Bangladeshi Hindus of justice
“Bangladesh is the land where different religions co-exist and everyone is allowed to follow their religion. Religion may be different but the festivals belong to all Faith. It has been our tradition where people participate in unison to celebrate different festivals. Sometimes, a group of miscreants orchestrate communal incidents and destroy the spirit of people. This is an unfortunate incident,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in a statement.
PM Sheikh Hasina’s reassures the Hindu community in #Bangladesh, sends out a stern message against fundamentalism in the aftermath of #Comilla violence during #DurgaPuja pic.twitter.com/p6eC12K4Hn
— ইন্দ্রজিৎ | Indrajit (@iindrojit) October 14, 2021
She assured, “A probe has been initiated into the matter and we will nab those who are behind the attack. We will take action against the perpetrators, irrespective of their religion. We have done it before and we will do it again.”
MEA issues statement on the Durga Puja violence
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) took cognisance of the matter and issued a firm statement in this regard. Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated, “(We have taken notice of) disturbing, untoward incidents involving attacks on religious gatherings in Bangladesh. We note that the Government of Bangladesh has reacted promptly to ensure control of the situation including the deployment of the law enforcement machinery.”
MEA on minorities being attacked in Bangladesh during Durga Puja: Have noted action by Bangladesh govt & it’s support to Puja. pic.twitter.com/sR3cIhznnA
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) October 14, 2021
“We also understand that the ongoing festive celebration of Durga Puja continues in Bangladesh with the support of the Government of Bangladesh agencies. High Commission in Dhaka and our Consulates in Bangladesh are in close contact with the authorities in Dhaka and (at) local level,” Bagchi concluded.
Islamic extremists vandalize multiple Durga Puja pandals
A Facebook post allegedly showing Hindus insulting the Quran went viral on social media on Wednesday (October 13) night after which the religious fanatics took to the streets to vandalize several Durga pandals. Denying the claims of insulting the Quran, Shibu Prasad Dutta, the general secretary of Cumilla Mahanagar Puja Udjapon Committee, informed that someone placed a copy of the Quran at a Durga Puja pavilion in Nanua Dighir Par early in the morning when the guard was asleep.
“The miscreants took some pictures of this and ran away. Within a few hours, using Facebook, the propaganda spread like wildfire with the provocative pictures,” confirmed a district official. He hinted at the role of some Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islam workers. 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. As many as three Hindus were killed in the violent clash.
