Hasina govt beefs up security for Hindus in Bangladesh

The Bangladesh government has assured the country's Hindu community of improved security following attacks on temples and pandals during Durga Puja celebrations.

IMAGE: Devotees carry an idol of the goddess Durga for its immersion into the Buriganga river on the last day of the Durga Puja festival in Dhaka. Photograph: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters

The government has said that Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) troopers were deployed in 22 districts to maintain security, Dhaka Tribune reported. BGB personnel had been deployed at the request of the deputy commissioners concerned and on instructions from the Home Ministry, said Lt Colonel Faizur Rahman, BGB director of operations.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Thursday said several people involved in the Cumilla incident had been identified and some suspected instigators had been detained.

"We will hunt down those involved in the incident," he said.

Stating that the authorities would inform the media about the details after investigation, the home minister said: "It appears that it was a motivated move planned by a vested group."

Some suspects had been detained in Cumilla and they were being interrogated, he said.

Communal violence broke out in several places in Bangladesh on Wednesday after news broke on social media about the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran at a Durga Puja venue on the bank of Nanuar Dighi.

Several incidents of vandalism at Durga Puja pandals were reported.

At least three people were killed and 60 injured including journalists, police and common people, in the communal violence during Durga Puja celebrations in Chandpur's Hajiganj Upazila.

The incident occurred on Wednesday when the Hindu devotees were celebrating Durga Puja, the greatest religious festival of the Hindu community in Bangladesh, reported Dhaka Tribune.

Earlier in Cumilla, at least 50 people were injured as a group of religious extremists clashed with law enforcers in the Nanua Dighirpar area over reports of "demeaning the Holy Quran" at a Puja Mandap, reported Daily Star.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has issued a tough warning, saying anyone involved in the attacks on Hindu temples and Durga Puja venues in Cumilla will not be spared.

"The incidents in Cumilla are being investigated. Nobody will be spared. It doesn't matter which religion they belong to," she said while exchanging greetings with people of the Hindu community on the occasion of Durga Puja on Thursday.