Jan 11, 2025 10:44 PM IST
Bangladesh said that its interim government maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards any communal attacks in the country.
Bangladesh on Saturday said that a majority of incidents against the minority communities since August last year were ‘political in nature’ and not ‘communal’.
Citing a police report, the press wing of Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, in a statement, said that the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council recently claimed that there were 2,010 incidents of communal violence since August 4 last year – a day before deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country after a massive student-led protest, according to PTI.
Of these, 1,769 incidents were reported as attacks and vandalism. Police have registered 62 cases based on merits and arrested at least 35 culprits based on the investigation.
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It, however, added that “in the majority of the cases, the attacks were not communally motivated—rather, those were political in nature.”
“Police investigations found that 1,234 incidents were ‘political in nature,’ 20 incidents were communal and at least 161 claims were found to be false or untrue.”
About 1,452 incidents (or 82.8% of the total claims) took place on August 5, 2024, 65 incidents took place on August 4 and 70 incidents on August 6.
Apart from the Council claims, Police also received 134 allegations of communal violence between August 5 through January 8, 2025, it said, adding, police responded to all those complaints with utmost importance and at least 53 cases were filed against those complaints and 65 offenders were arrested, reported PTI.
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“In all, since August 4, a total of 115 cases have been registered over complaints of communal attacks and at least 100 people have been arrested over the cases,” the statement said.
It added that the Bangladesh police have now set up a WhatsApp number to receive allegations of communal violence and to maintain continuous contact with the minority community leaders.
‘Zero tolerance for communal attacks’
In its statement, the press wing of Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said that the interim government maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards any communal attacks in the country and ordered police to arrest the culprits. It also announced that it would compensate the victims.
There has been a spate of attacks on minorities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh as well as attacks on temples or cases of vandalism of properties belonging to the minority communities over the last few months triggering strong concerns in New Delhi.
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The attacks allegedly targeting the members of Hindu community and led to strained bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster from power.
India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri during his visit to Bangladesh had raised “regrettable incidents” of attacks on minorities and conveyed India’s concerns regarding their safety and security.
Dhaka, however, raised the “misrepresentation” by sections of the Indian media about the situation, but acknowledged the incidents a day later.
(Inputs from PTI)
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