Bangladesh: One Iskcon devotee allegedly killed as mob vandalises temple amidst continuing protests

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Wednesday, October 20th
2021
NEIGHBOURHOOD
UNREST
Bangladesh: One Iskcon
devotee allegedly killed as mob
vandalises temple amidst
continuing protests
The violence erupted on
Wednesday following
allegations that a copy of the
Quran had been desecrated in
a Puja pandal in Comilla
district.
Scroll Staff
Oct 16, 2021

An Iskcon temple attacked in Noakhali district, Bangladesh. | Iskcon/
Twitter
As protests in Bangladesh following the alleged desecration of the Quran
continued for the third day on Friday, the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness, or Iskcon, said that a devotee had been killed as one of its
temples in Noakhali district was attacked by a mob.
In a tweet on Saturday, the religious organisation alleged that one of its
members, Partha Das, died in the attack by over 200 people. Iskcon said his
body had been found in a pond next to the temple.
“We call on the government of Bangladesh for immediate action in this
regard,” the organisation said.
It is with great grief that we share the news of a ISKCON member, Partha
Das, who was brutally killed yesterday by a mob of over 200 people. His
body was found in a pond next to the temple.
We call on the Govt of Bangladesh for immediate action in this
regard. https://t.co/BLwqGsN36h
— ISKCON (@iskcon) October 16, 2021
On Wednesday, a mob and the police had clashed in Bangladesh’s
Chandpur district following social media posts about the alleged
desecration of the Quran in a Durga Puja pandal in Comilla district. Three
people had died in the violence.
Clashes were also reported from the districts of Comilla, Chattogram,
Kurigram and Moulvibazar as mobs allegedly vandalised temples and idols
of Hindu deities.
On Friday, a man identified as Jatan Kumar Saha was killed during a protest
in Noakhali district’s Begumganj administrative division, reported
the Dhaka Tribune.
Noakhali Additional Police Superintendent Shah Imran told reporters that
a group of people had organised a protest rally. They attacked, vandallised
and looted Hindu houses, businesses and several temples in the
Chaumuhani municipality area, the police said.“During this attack, one man
died and a total of 18 people were injured, including the acting-officer-in-charge of Begumganj police station
Kamruzzaman Shikdar,” Imran added. Amid the rising communal tensions, the Noakhali administration imposed a ban
on large gatherings between 6 am and 6 pm on Saturday. In Sylhet district, local residents, along with the
police, foiled an attempt to vandalise two Durga Puja pandals in the city’s Hawlader Para area on Friday. The
attackers threw bricks at the pandals as well as at adjacent houses.
Residents said more than 150 people had first marched to another pandal in Kalibari area around 2.15 pm on
Friday. As the devotees there protested, the mob turned towards Hawladar Para and broke the gate of another pandal.
In Dhaka, five police officials, including Ramna Zone Assistant Commissioner Bayezidur Rahman, were injured after a group of protestors clashed with them following prayers at the Baitul Mukarram mosque, reported The Daily Star. Five protestors were
detained.
In Chattogram, a mob threw bricks bricks at the Jemson Hall Puja Mandap in the Andarkilla area. Clashes erupted after the the police
chased the mob away. Around 50 demonstrators were detained.
Bijoy Bashak, deputy commissioner of south division of the Chattogram
Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star that the police fired shots in the air
and hurled tear gas to disperse the mob.
Violence was also reported from Kishoreganj district, according to the
Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, a Hindu organisation.
Gobinda Chandra Pramanik, the Bangladesh National Hindu
Mahajote secretary general, claimed that at least 17 Hindu temples have
been attacked and vandalised since Wednesday, reported The New York
Times. He added that more than a hundred people have been injured in the
attacks.
The authorities said that at least 100 people have been arrested across the
country in connection with the attacks, reported AP. Around 9% of
Bangladesh’s population of over 16 crore belongs to the Hindu community.
Many organisations – both belonging to the Hindus and Muslims – have
condemned the violence. The Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad said it
will organise demonstrations across the country against the vandalism at
Hindu temples.
Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, the founder of health center Gonoshasthaya
Kendra, said that it is the first time since 1947 that such major clashes have
been witnessed in Comilla district. “The government has to take
responsibility so that these incidents do not happen again,” he said.
On Thursday, Obaidul Quader, general secretary of the ruling Awami
League party, asked Bangladeshis to identify and alert the police about
those spreading rumours on social media.
On the same day, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had promised to take
action against the perpetrators of Wednesday’s violence, reported The
Hindu.