Protest: Following a series of riots and attacks against Hindu temples and people in Bangladesh since the celebration of the Durga Puja festival’s ‘Maha Saptami’ on October 12 last year, a storm of outrage erupted across Tripura on Monday.
Social movement called ‘Sebaloy’
In front of Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhavan, MP Rebati Tripura of the East Tripura parliamentary seat joined members of the social movement ‘Sebaloy’ in a candlelight demonstration.
Members of Tripura’s School Inspectorate held a silent protest rally against Bangladesh’s brutal attack on minorities, demanding stern action against the perpetrators and urging the Bangladesh government to safeguard the safety of minority people.
The protest
The Jamiat Ulama (Hind) of Tripura State condemned and opposed the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh, as well as the vandalism of Goddess Durga idols in several parts of the neighboring nation.
On Monday, members of the International Hindu Sena Tripura branch, Dharmanagar ISKCON temple members, and members of other Hindu groups marched in Dharmanagar, North Tripura, to protest the persecution of Hindu temples, deities, and people in Bangladesh.
As the organization staged a district-level protest rally and street corner in Kamalpur under Dhalai district on Monday afternoon, Vishva Hindu Parishad strongly condemned the most recent Islamic fundamental atrocities unleashing their ugly faces on religious minorities, particularly Hindus, since the night of Maha Saptami in Bangladesh.
Several young people who had communicated through various social media platforms assembled in front of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala to protest the same issue.
Anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh
During Durga Puja celebrations in Bangladesh, some Hindu temples were vandalized by unidentified Muslim bigots, prompting the government to deploy paramilitary forces in 22 districts after four people were killed and many others were injured in riots, according to media reports on Thursday, October 14, 2021.
Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) personnel have been deployed in 22 districts throughout the country to curb the spread of violence, according to a spokesperson for the home ministry.
In 22 of the 64 administrative districts and elsewhere, the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and armed police were also ordered to be on guard with the BGB to quell any unrest, he claimed.
Three persons were killed in fights between Muslim extremists and the police on Wednesday in Hajiganj sub-district in Chandpur, near Cumilla, according to media sources, while the fourth succumbed to his wounds later.
Officials in Haziganj imposed a rally ban after four people were killed by bullets, with two more badly injured in the confrontations.
A couple of police officers were hurt when a mob attacked them and vandalized their and local administrators’ cars, according to the police.
They did not say whether the deaths were caused by police activities, but media sources said that police opened fire on a mob of more than 500 individuals.
The police were warned about an alleged blasphemy incident at a Durga Puja pavilion in Cumilla, about 100 kilometers from here, according to officials, and an investigation was initiated.
However, bigots attacked temples in Cumilla, neighboring Haziganj, and the northwestern coastal sub-districts of Hatia and Banskhali, with social media playing a major role in inflaming communal tensions.
The violence was described by Hindu religious leaders as part of a plot to disrupt Durga Puja celebrations, and they demanded action against racists as well as the safety of Hindu temples and establishments.
According to Nirmol Pal, secretary of the Cumilla district puja celebration committee, a certain group committed blasphemy at the pavilion to disrupt the Durga Puja by conducting demonstrations.
