News Brief
Violence Against Minorities Rises Under Bangladesh's Yunus-Led Interim Government: Another Hindu Temple Attacked, Idols Burnt
Head of Interim Government in Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus (X) (Representative Image)
Amid the ongoing violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh, another Hindu temple was reportedly set ablaze in the outskirts of Dhaka.
Late Friday (6 December) night, the Mahabhagya Lakshminarayan Mandir in Dhor village, located north of Dhaka, became the target of an attack.
Babul Ghosh, the temple supervisor, stated that a complaint has been lodged against unidentified miscreants for burning down his ancestral temple.
Ghosh said that the attackers poured petrol on the idols when he was not at home and fled the scene upon hearing his footsteps, news agency ANI reported.
Ghosh suggested that the attackers had "ulterior motives" beyond setting fire to the idols.
"The Lakshminarayan temple is our ancestral temple. Last night, the attackers entered the house from the rear side, poured petrol over the idols and set them on fire. The idols of Lakshmi and Narayan, which were dressed in resplendent saree and dhoti, with a curtain behind them, all burnt down. The attackers had some bigger plans. We had gone out for some time. Our neighbours saw the fire and all of them tried to douse it with water. The attackers were present here at that time, but ran away after hearing the sound of our footsteps," he was quoted as saying by ANI.
Ghosh showed the burnt parts of his temple, recalling how beautiful they were before.
Ghosh said that he had alerted the police and filed a formal complaint.
"They (attackers) knew there is CCTV on the front side, that's why they came from the rear side... We didn't find any footage on CCTV," he added.
Commenting on the incident, Radharaman Das, Vice President of ISKCON Kolkata, said, "The idol of Lakshminarayan has been vandalised, and the entire temple has been burned down".
"The head of the interim government of Bangladesh recently held a meeting with leaders of religious minorities. We had hoped the situation would change after that, but what we are seeing is something entirely different. I am regularly receiving threatening videos with ultimatums to ban ISKCON in the country, or they will kill ISKCON devotees," he added.
Bangladesh has witnessed numerous attacks targeting Hindus and other minorities, including arson, looting of homes, and the desecration of temples and deities by extremist groups after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August.
The military-installed Muhammad Yunus-led interim government has failed to ensure the security of Hindus and other minorities in the country.
The arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das in Chittagong on 25 November on sedition charges sparked significant protests across the country.
India had on 26 November noted with deep concern the arrest and denial of bail to Chinmoy Krishna Das, who is also the spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatan Jagran Jote.
India urged Bangladesh to safeguard the rights and security of Hindus and other minorities, emphasising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
