India
India urges Bangladesh to take action against extremists and ensure safety of Hindus in Chittogong | India News – Times of India
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal
India’s response came amid a clash that broke out between the Hindu community and law enforcement agencies amid a tense situation over a Facebook post criticizing ISKCON. As a result, the joint forces of police and army conducted an operation there on Tuesday evening and reportedly attacked the Hindu community.
In response to the attacks on the Hindu community: MEA Spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said: “We have seen that there have been attacks on the Hindu community in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Their properties have been looted, their business establishments have been looted. This happened following inflammatory social media posts targeting Hindu religious organizations.”
“It is clear that there are extremist elements behind such posts and such illegal criminal activities. This will undoubtedly create further tensions in the community. We once again urge the government of Bangladesh to take strong measures to ensure the safety of Hindus and take action against extremist elements,” he added.
The unrest began after a local Muslim youth reportedly uploaded a post on Facebook criticizing ISKCON.
“The angry people from the Hindu community protested and clashed with the law enforcement agencies. They threw stones and other objects at the police. After the clashes, a joint operation was carried out by law enforcement agencies comprising police and army,” Saifuddin Tuhin, a local told a reporter from Chittagong to ANI over phone.
“A local youth named Osman posted on Facebook demanding the ban on ISKCON. Law and order forces went there when tensions arose. It was alleged that something like acid was thrown at the law enforcement agencies,” said a leader of the Hindu community.
Exiled Bengali author Taslima Nasreen shared a disturbing video of the clashes and claimed: “The army went to a Hindu shop in Hazari Lane, Chittagong last night and said, ‘Open the gate, come out, we are counting to three, if you don’t do’. ‘Don’t come out, we will shoot.'”
Hindus, who make up about 8 percent of Bangladesh’s 170 million people, have historically aligned themselves with Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party. The party faced opposition after violent clashes between anti-quota protesters and security personnel the previous month.
On August 5, after weeks of demonstrations and violent incidents that left more than 600 dead, a student-led uprising led to the ouster of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina, 76, took refuge in India on August 5, after which an interim government led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus took power.
