Dhaka, Dec 10 (PTI) Bangladesh on Tuesday acknowledged 88 incidents of communal violence against minorities, primarily Hindus, following the ouster of then-premier Sheikh Hasina in August.
Interim government head Muhammad Yunus’ press secretary Shafiqul Alam also said that 70 people have been arrested in those incidents.
He made the disclosure a day after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri flagged regrettable incidents of attacks on minorities and conveyed India’s concerns, including those related to the safety and welfare of minorities, during his meetings with the Bangladeshi leadership.
A total of 88 cases have been filed in incidents related to minorities from August 5 to October 22, Alam told reporters.
“The number of cases and arrests is likely to increase as new incidents of violence have also been reported in (northeastern Sunamganj, (central) Gazipur, and other areas,” he said.
He added that there might be cases where some victims were members of the previous ruling party.
The government has so far insisted that other than a few incidents, Hindus were not attacked because of their faiths.
“Some attacks targeted individuals who were former members of the ruling party or they were the result of personal disputes. Nevertheless, since violence occurred, the police are taking appropriate action,” he said.
Alam said that details regarding the incidents that took place after October 22 will be shared soon.
There have been a spate of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities, as well as attacks on temples in Bangladesh in the last few weeks that triggered strong concerns in New Delhi.
Bangladeshi Minorities Alliance demand UN action to stop targeted persecution of Hindus
Washington, Dec 10 (PTI) Bangladeshi Minorities Alliance, comprising various Hindu groups from the US and Europe, has urged the United Nations to take immediate action to stop targeted persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.
“The persecution of Hindus and Buddhists is not merely an issue of apathy in governance; it is a stain on the conscience of humanity and its lukewarm efforts,” said Richa Gautam of CaresGlobal, which is part of the Bangladeshi Minorities Alliance (BMA).
Gautam and several other members of the alliance attended the 17th session of the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues in Geneva last week, with a plea to the international community to confront the harrowing crisis facing minority communities in Bangladesh.
Several countries, including India, have repeatedly expressed concern over the targeting of Hindus since the interim government of Muhammad Yunus took charge in early August in Bangladesh.
There have been a spate of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities, as well as attacks on temples in Bangladesh in the last few weeks, especially the recent arrest of a Hindu monk, Chinmoy Krishna Das.
“This is not just about statistics. This is about lives destroyed, dreams crushed, and futures stolen. The suffering of Bangladesh’s Hindus cannot be ignored,” said Dipan Mitra, speaking on behalf of CaresGlobal and the World Hindu Federation (WHF) European Chapter.
“These are mothers, fathers, children — people whose voices have been silenced. It is our moral duty to stand with them and ensure justice. The world must act now, before it’s too late,” Mitra said.
A media released said the UN forum, chaired by Anastasia Crickley and co-chaired by UNHRC president Omar Zniber, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk, and Special Rapporteur Prof Nicolas Levrat, discussed the atrocities being committed against Bangladesh’s religious minorities, especially Hindus and Buddhists.
“Today, we stand united across the globe for the Hindus of Bangladesh, who have been silenced by oppression. Their only crime is that they are Hindus in a country gripped by radical fanaticism,” said CaresGlobal and WHF in a joint statement.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)