The onslaught on the Hindu community has continued unabated since the fall of Dhaka and the undemocratic ouster of Sheikh Hasina on 5th August this year.
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.
The attacks have raised concerns among the local Hindus, who have sought immediate intervention from the law enforcement authorities and district administration.
A team of police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and army officials visited the Hindu temples, which came under attack. Durga Puja is set to commence on 9th October this year and will be conducted in 51 temples in Sujanagar upazila.
The President of the Manikadi Palpara Barwari Pujamandap, Bijan Pal, informed that he saw the idols intact when he left the temple on the night of 1st October. When he came to the temple the following day, he found that the idols were beheaded.
Attempts to downplay idol vandalism in Pabna
He pointed out that efforts were underway to repair the damaged, under-construction idols. Sujanagar Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Md. Rasheduzzaman tried to brush off the case as a ‘one-off incident.’
“This is an isolated incident. We are trying to find the culprits to take legal action. At the same time, to ensure the safety of each temple, a committee consisting of local people has already been formed,” he claimed.
Subodh Kumar Noto, the President of Sujanagar Upazila Puja Celebration Parishad, has expressed concerns over the two consecutive attacks on Hindu temples.
Idols vandalised in Kishoreganj
On Thursday (3rd October), 7 idols of Hindu deities were destroyed at the Gopinath Jiur Akhara Durga Puja mandap. The incident occurred in Kishoreganj in the Dhaka Division of Bangladesh.
The vandalism was carried out in the wee hours of the night when the guards, responsible for ensuring the security of the temple, were asleep.
The accused scaled the walls and broke off the heads of the idols. On learning about the matter, the police and local authorities visited the scene to assess the damage.
An emergency meeting was conducted with the leaders of the Hindu community, who demanded the immediate arrest of the perpetrators involved in temple desecration and idol vandalism.
The Hindus staged a protest on Thursday evening. They took to the streets and assembled outside the office of the district commissioner, seeking justice.
Despite assurances by Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Khan and SP Mohammad Hasan Chowdhury, no arrests have been made so far.
Hindus left traumatised
While speaking about the matter, the president of the Kishoreganj district Puja Celebration Committee Narayan Dutta Pradeep said, “The vandalism has left the Hindu community heartbroken. Everyone is now in a state of fear. If such acts continue, how can we celebrate our religious festivals?”
The President of the Gopinath Jiur Akhara Durga Puja celebration committee, Litton Sarkar, emphasised, “Those responsible seek to disrupt communal harmony and should be swiftly identified and arrested.”
In total, 16 idols of Hindu deities and three temples were attacked in the past 6 days in Bangladesh.
Attack on Hindus in Bangladesh
There have been at least 205 attacks on Hindu temples, shops and businesses since the ouster of Sheikha Hasina as Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
OpIndia had reported how a Hindu boy named Utsab Mandal was almost lynched by a Muslim mob on accusations of ‘blasphemy’ in the Sonadanga residential area of Khulna city.
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 vandalised the idols of Goddess Durga and other Hindu deities in Gouripur town in the Mymensingh district of Bangladesh on 25th September.
The accused was identified as 22-year-old Yasin Mia. The police arrested him on 26th September for his involvement in the desecration of Hindu idols.
Mia entered the premises of Gobindajew temple in the wee hours of Wednesday and began destroying the idols, which had been sculpted for the past 20 days. While attempting to take the idols away, he was spotted by a Hindu woman named Dolly Rani.
She raised alarm and Mia was quickly apprehended by two locals, Akhil Chandra Bishwasharma and Bipul Ghosh. The accused was then handed over to the police
