A US-based human rights organisation has claimed that religious minorities, especially Hindus, still face discrimination in Bangladesh.

Refugees International, in a report, alleged that though Bangladesh provides for 'freedom of religion', minorities 'face restrictions in areas such as access to jobs in the government and military'.

Most Bangladeshi Hindus who come to India receive little protection, it said, adding Bangladesh and India should deal with the problems in a better manner. 

Claiming that up to '20,000 Hindus were displaced in recent years' due to communal violence, it asked the Bangladesh government to comply with laws protecting religious minorities and establish an independent body to probe the attacks on Hindus in 2001.

It also recommended the Indian government to stop 'threatening mass expulsion of Bangladeshis who have come to India whether as refugees or for economic reasons'.

The report alleged that 'despite calls for a full, impartial and independent investigation of the 2001 attacks, the Government of Bangladesh has taken no action to bring to justice the perpetrators'.

The organisation also demanded that property appropriated under the Vested Property Act from Hindus be returned to them according to a well-defined timetable.

"In the absence of a specific date for the return, there is no way to monitor whether the property is being returned", it added.