New Delhi: Asaduzzaman Khan, the Bangladeshi minister of home affairs, on Sunday, October 17 called the recent violence in and around Comilla “planned” and alleged that it was done to destroy the communal harmony of the country, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
With relation to other incidents of violence scattered around the country, Khan noted that he suspected the involvement of a “third party”.
A string of attacks on temples took place in Bangladesh’s Comilla district on Thursday, October 14 after “rumours” of the Quran being disrespected at temples were shared on social media, Lokmat reported.
A picture was allegedly uploaded to Facebook which showed a copy of the Quran on the knee of a Ganesh idol which was part of the larger Durga idol at a puja venue on the bank of the Nanuar Dighi.
According to local officials, miscreants belonging to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islam planted copies of the holy book within the Nanuar Dighir Par temple on Tuesday night and took pictures, which they later shared on Facebook. The “propaganda spread like wildfire,” the officials said.
Following the social media posts, angry mobs vandalised temples and Durga Puja venues across the country in areas such as Chandpur, Chittagong, Gazipur, Bandarban, Chapainawabganj and Moulvibazar, NDTV reported.
Several casualties were reported from the incidents and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were deployed in 22 districts to quell the flaring communal tensions.
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While addressing reporters, Khan did not confirm the alleged cause for the incident, noting that it would be made public when more evidence comes to light and that those involved in the violence would be given “exemplary punishment”. When asked about the involvement of the BNP in the violence, Khan noted that the allegations were not based on facts.
“Our security forces are working with patience and we work on intelligence information. Those who are trying to destroy communal peace will not succeed,” Khan said.
Following the Comilla incident, a group of over 200 Muslim protestors attacked a temple on Friday, the final day of Durga Puja celebrations. Two men, one of whom was a member of the temple committee, were killed in the violence, taking the number of casualties since the alleged picture was posted up to six, NDTV reported.
Further, on Sunday, fresh violence was reported in Rangpur’s Karimganj upazila where a mob burned down 20 houses belonging to Hindus. The incident allegedly took place after a Hindu youth posted a Facebook status which hurt Muslim sentiments. According to the local additional superintendent of police, no one was hurt in the incident, the Times of India reported.
