The Bangladesh government has assured the country’s Hindu community of improved security as Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) troopers were deployed in 22 districts following attacks on temples during Durga Puja celebrations.
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 Comilla incident had been identified and some suspected instigators had been detained.
“We will hunt down those involved in the incident,” he said.
Khan was talking to reporters following a meeting with senior police, BGB and RAB officials.
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 Comilla and they were being interrogated, he said.
Rapid Action Battalion troops on patrol by a vandalized Durga Puja mandap to avoid communal violence in Comilla town on Wednesday, October 13, 2021 Dhaka Tribune
Meanwhile, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader warned that those involved in the Comilla incident would be brought to justice and no offender would be spared.
He said the incident was an evil communal act and those who had attacked Hindu temples would not be spared either, regardless of their party affiliation.
Quader, who is also road transport and bridges minister, said the fact that puja was now being celebrated at about 30,000 to 35,000 mandaps across the country had made the communal forces anxious.
Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said those trying to destabilize the country by targeting the Durga Puja celebrations would face stern action.
On Wednesday, tension erupted among locals in Comilla after news broke on social media about the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran at a Durga Puja venue on the banks of Nanuar Dighi.
At one point, the situation started to get out of control and trouble started spreading to a number of puja venues in the adjacent areas. The local administration and police had come under attack while trying to restore order, reports our correspondent.
Later in the afternoon, RAB and BGB troopers were deployed to bring the situation under control.
In an emergency notice later in the day, the Religious Affairs Ministry said it had come across news that the central religious text of Islam had been “disrespected” in Comilla.
But the ministry urged people not to take the law into their own hands over the incident and reiterated its call for communal harmony and peace to be maintained.