A Hindu temple has been vandalised again in Bangladesh in a fresh case of communal violence unleashed by extremist Muslims who attacked the minority community’s Durga Puja celebrations, prompting the Hindus to call for a nationwide hunger strike.
Hindu owned temples and shops in Feni, a place 157 kms from Dhaka, have been vandalised and robbed after demonstrators were protesting against an attack on the Durga Puja Pandals on 16th October.
The violence left at least 40 people, including the Officer In-charge Nizamuddin of Feni Model Police Station, injured in the clashes, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.
Authorities deployed additional police and para-military forces Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), after several temples and businesses owned by Hindus were vandalised and robbed during clashes that lasted from 4:30 PM (local time) to midnight, the report said. Six idols at the Daniapara Maha Shoshan Kali Mandir in Rashunia union of Sirajdikhan upazila in Munshiganj, were also vandalised according to the reports.
In Chittagong, the country’s Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council announced a sit in and hunger strike from October 23 as a mark of protest against the recent attacks on minority places of worship.The Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad has demanded exemplary punishments for those involved in the rampant vandalism, violence and mayhem that took place during the Durga Puja celebrations.
Meanwhile, the ruling Awami League backed Blue-panel teachers of Dhaka University strongly condemned the violence and blamed the opposition for it. The RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) said it is expecting to arrest some key conspirators of the communal violence unleashed on the country’s minorities. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised to bring to justice the culprits behind the violence, saying anyone involved in the attacks on Hindu temples and Durga Puja venues in Comilla will not be spared.
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