Protests Erupt In Kolkata, Guwahati Amid Atrocities At Hindus In Bangladesh

The lynching of two Hindu Bangladeshis has sparked a massive political row in India, with protests erupting in West Bengal and Assam demanding accountability from the neighbouring country’s government.

Multiple organisations, mostly pro-Hindu activists in saffron-clad clothes, dominated the streets of Kolkata on Friday, demanding that the atrocities being committed against minorities, especially Hindus, be stopped.

Thousands of saffron-clad activists gathered outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata to protest the atrocities being committed against minorities in the neighbouring country.

The pro-Hindu activists’ rally was accompanied by West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari. They entered the premises of the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh to speak to the authorities regarding atrocities against Hindus.

12 people were arrested for protesting against the atrocities being committed in Bangladesh. They were produced before the Alipore Police Court.

The court granted them bail on a bond of Rs 3,000 each.

Advocate Chandan Kumar Saha told ANI, “The court has granted bail to them on a bond of Rs 3,000 each.”

The members of the Bengali United Forum also held a protest before the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Assam’s Guwahati on Friday against the reported atrocities being committed against minorities in the neighbouring country.

Bengali United Forum member Santanu Mukherjee said, “We condemn the attack on Bangladeshi Hindus and request the government to take immediate steps to stop the killings.”

Adhikari demanded that atrocities against Bangladeshi Hindus be stopped and warned of an intensified protest if demands were not met.

“1,000 sadhus have gathered here against what happened with Dipu Das and the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh. We demand that the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh should stop. If our demand is not met, all saints who come to Ganga Sagar Mela will come and sit in protest here,” the BJP leader told ANI.

Former MoS for External Affairs and BJP leader MJ Akbar said that the events unfolding in Bangladesh for the last two years were reflective of “venom introduced by Pakistan”.

Speaking to ANI in Mapusa, he said that “hate” was not an ideology since it can’t sustain itself.

“What we see in the last 2 years is the return of the venom that Pakistan introduces in the body politic that reflects in Bangladesh. Hate is not an ideology as hate cannot sustain itself,” Akbar said.

BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain alleged that the neighbouring country’s government had an “anti-Hindu mentality” and was targeting minority communities.

Speaking to ANI, he said that the entire Hindu community in Bangladesh was living in fear.

“There is an anti-Hindu mentality government in Bangladesh. Hindus are being targeted. After Deepu Chandra Das, another Hindu, was lynched. The entire Hindu community is living in fear. The actions Bangladesh is taking are unforgivable. Bangladesh should not forget that its actions will damage its own image,” Hussain said.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sharmila Sarkar said that the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh were an international issue and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the Ministry of External Affairs, to intervene.

“This is an international issue, and we want our Prime Minister and the Ministry of External Affairs to intervene in this matter and engage in talks with Bangladesh to stop the attacks on Hindus. Our Chief Minister has clearly said that whatever steps the country takes, we will support,” Sarkar told reporters.

Earlier, West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of not being vocal against attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.

“In relation to Dipu Chandra Das’ killing, why are Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah quiet? What is the External Affairs Minister doing?” Panja told reporters during a press conference in Kolkata.

She also said that the BJP was trying to create a “false narrative” against TMC, dismissing claims that her party was silent on minorities being attacked in the neighbouring country.

“Those who are dying in Bangladesh should not be dying. The Bharatiya Janata Party should answer. What steps has your leader, the Prime Minister of the country, taken? The Government of India and the Government of Bangladesh should talk to each other. Then why is the Trinamool Congress being questioned here?” Panja said.

Reacting to this, BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli lashed out at TMC, enquiring about the steps it is taking against illegal immigrants in the backdrop of attacks against minorities in Bangladesh.

“Any case of lynching is terrible, and strict action has to happen against the accused. However, now that TMC has spoken. Perhaps, they can let the nation know what they are doing in West Bengal to remove illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, they must tell,” Kohli told ANI.

Meanwhile, India on Friday raised serious concerns over repeated incidents of violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh, including Hindus, Christians and Buddhists, and said it is closely monitoring the situation in the neighbouring country.

Briefing the media in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government was disturbed by the sustained hostility faced by minority communities.

“India is closely monitoring developments and has expressed grave concern over the continued hostility of minorities, including Hindus, Christians, and Buddhists. We condemn the recent killing of a Hindu youth in Mymensingh and expect that the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice,” Jaiswal said.

On Wednesday, the Daily Star reported that a Hindu youth identified as Amrit Mondal was lynched at Hosendanga village of Kalimohor union in Rajbari’s Pangsha sub-district over an extortion allegation.

Police rushed to the spot upon receiving information last night and rescued Samrat in a critical condition.

The murder of Mondal took place days after the mob lynching and burning of the Hindu youth, Dipu Chandra Das, in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district.

A worker in a garment factory, Dipu Chandra Das, was beaten to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy charges and had his body hanged and set on fire on December 18.

The Daily Star, citing Mymensingh’s Additional Superintendent of Police, Abdullah Al Mamun, stated that a factory official had informed Bhaluka police that a group of workers attacked Dipu inside the factory, accusing him of making “derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH)” in a Facebook post.

However, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-14 Company Commander in Mymensingh, Md Samsuzzaman, told The Daily Star that investigators found no evidence suggesting the deceased had posted or written anything on Facebook that could have hurt religious sentiments, adding that neither residents nor fellow garment factory workers could point to any such activity by the victim. (ANI)