In a case of rising atrocities against the Hindu minorities of Bangladesh, a violent mob set ablaze 30 Hindu homes at Thakurbari village in Rangpur Sadar upazila of Bangladesh. This village is about 300 kilometres from Dhaka.
The mob carried out such a violent attack after it was angered by a supposedly defamatory Facebook by a Hindu resident of that village. The police intervened in this matter after the mob had burnt 30 Hindu houses apart from vandalising and looting a sizeable number of houses.
The police later fired rubber bullets and tear gas shells against the mob in order to try and bring the situation under control.
Such an escalation was a result of a rumour that the Hindu villager had written a Facebook post defamatory against Prophet Mohammed, which brought out a 20,000 strong crowd to protest, a section of which later went berserk.
In the subsequent police action 6 people were injured and later one youth named Hamidul Islam succumbed to his injuries. A total of 33 people have been detained in connection with this whole incident.
The district administration has also formed a 3 member committee headed by Additional District Magistrate Abu Rafa Mohammad Rafiq, in order to investigate this incident. The Deputy Commissioner of Rangpur also claimed that they had arranged relief material for the affected Hindu families in the village.
Bangladesh has regularly seen such forms of atrocities against Hindus who now constitute a mere 10.7% of the total population.
Reports have claimed that about 98 Hindus were killed, 357 injured and 1,109 received death threats in 2016 alone. It also claimed that 711 Hindus left the country, 209 idols were damaged and 22 were stolen.
In October, 2016 there were reports that at-least 15 Hindu temples in Bangladesh’s Brahmanbarhia district were vandalised and 100 houses were looted over allegations that disrespect was shown towards Islam on Facebook.
2013 also saw immeasurable atrocities against Hindus. In the aftermath of the International crimes tribunal sentencing Delwar Hossain Sayeedi to death for war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war, Hindu houses and temples were attacked by radical elements. This prompted the Bangladesh High Court to instruct the government to provide adequate security to the Hindus and repair the damage caused.
Violent attacks against Hindus over Facebook posts have also been witnessed in India’s West Bengal.
In the state’s Basirhat region, a Jihadi mob went on a rampage in July after it was incensed by a Facebook post made by a minor which allegedly denigrated their religion. The riots resulted in destruction of property, desecration of Hindu temples and also caused the death of a 65 year old man named Kartik Ghosh.
