A temple, shops and several houses of the Hindu community have been vandalized in southwestern Bangladesh by unidentified people in a Facebook post allegedly disparaging Islam, in the latest wave of violence against the religious minority in the country, according to reports. press release on Sunday.
Police fired warning shots to disperse a mob that vandalized several houses and set one of them on fire in Sahapara village in Narail district on Friday night. bdnoticias24.coman online newspaper quoted Haran Chandra Paul, an inspector from the local police station as saying.
The attackers also threw bricks at a temple in the town during the attack around 7:30 pm, he said.
They also broke the furniture inside the temple. Several shops were also vandalized, The Daily Star newspaper reported. Haran said a young man posted something offensive on Facebook, sparking anger among Muslims.
As tensions mounted over the post after Friday prayers, a group of Muslims demonstrated outside his house in the afternoon. Later they attacked the houses. No attacker was arrested.
The situation was normal at night, the police inspector said. Narail Police Superintendent Prabir Kumar Roy said law enforcement was working to keep the situation under control.
“We are investigating the incident. Those responsible for the violence will face action. The situation is normal for now,” Roy said.
Meanwhile, police have arrested a 20-year-old college student over the Facebook post. The student, identified as Akash Saha, was detained in Khulna, said Sheikh Abu Hena Milon, head of the Lohagara police station.
A police official said that Salahuddin Kochi, from Dighlia village, had filed a case against Akash on July 15, accusing him of disparaging Islam. Akash was brought to court in connection with that case.
Police forces were deployed to the area to prevent further violence, The Daily Star newspaper reported.
“After one group looted all of our valuables, another group came and found our door unlocked. Since there was nothing left to loot, they set fire to our house,” the newspaper quoted Deepali Rani Saha, a resident, as saying.
Deepali’s home was among houses and dozens of shops that were vandalized or burned down in Sahapara village.
A former member of the reserved seat at Dighalia Union Parishad said that most of the able-bodied people left the village after the attack.
“Almost all the houses are closed. Only the elderly of some families are at home. They are scared too,” she said.
“The police are on guard in the village, but we cannot trust them,” the newspaper quoted Shibnath Saha, 65, the president of the village’s Radha-Govinda temple as saying.
Attacks on religious minorities in Muslim-majority Bangladesh are on the rise, with many occurring after rumors or false posts were spread on social media, bdnews24.com said.
Last year, some Hindu temples in Bangladesh were vandalized by unidentified Muslim fanatics during Durga Puja celebrations, prompting the government to deploy paramilitary forces in 22 districts after four people were killed and scores injured in unrest.
According to a report by legal rights group Ain O Salish Kendra, 3,679 attacks were carried out against the Hindu community in Bangladesh between January 2013 and September 2021.
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