Youth detained, 3 temples vandalized in Barisal over ‘defamation of Quran’
Vandalized idols at one of the temples that came under attack in Gournadi, Barisal on Friday, October 15, 2021 Dhaka Tribune
Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal
Publish : 17 Oct 2021, 11:36 AMUpdate : 17 Oct 2021, 11:37 AM
Three Hindu temples were vandalized by an angry mob at Gournadi upazila of Barisal on Friday night after a young man was detained for allegedly defaming the Quran on Facebook.
The incident came hot on the heels of the attacks on Hindu temples and Durga Puja pavilions in different districts of the country over the past few days.
The vandalism at Gournadi took place around 9:30pm Friday, hours after one Mahananda Vaidya was caught by a group of angry locals and handed over to the police.
Police and local sources said Vaidya reportedly made an offensive remark, slandering the Quran, in a comment on a post on Facebook. After some local Muslims saw his comment, they gathered in the evening and detained him.
However, at around 9:30pm, another angry mob attacked the temples and vandalized them and the idols of Hindu gods and goddesses inside.
Subhash Vaidya, the general secretary of the Sarbojonin Durga Temple Committee, said: "The attacks at Kazirpar Sarbojonin Durga Temple and its adjacent Hari Temple and the temple in the house of Jagadish Vaidya happened all of a sudden, leaving the people of our community in mass panic and fear for their lives."
Gournadi police OC Afzal Hossain said the miscreants who vandalized the temples had fled before they arrived at the scene. “But we will investigate and take action."
Local resident Prashant Bala said exemplary punishment should be given to the person responsible for the comment on Facebook that caused the attacks, regardless of their community.
Youth detained, 3 temples vandalized in Barisal over ‘defamation of Quran’
Three Hindu temples were vandalized by an angry mob at Gournadi upazila of Barisal on Friday night after a young man was detained for allegedly defaming the Quran on Facebook.
The incident came hot on the heels of the attacks on Hindu temples and Durga Puja pavilions in different districts of the country over the past few days.
The vandalism at Gournadi took place around 9:30pm Friday, hours after one Mahananda Vaidya was caught by a group of angry locals and handed over to the police.
Police and local sources said Vaidya reportedly made an offensive remark, slandering the Quran, in a comment on a post on Facebook. After some local Muslims saw his comment, they gathered in the evening and detained him.
However, at around 9:30pm, another angry mob attacked the temples and vandalized them and the idols of Hindu gods and goddesses inside.
Subhash Vaidya, the general secretary of the Sarbojonin Durga Temple Committee, said: "The attacks at Kazirpar Sarbojonin Durga Temple and its adjacent Hari Temple and the temple in the house of Jagadish Vaidya happened all of a sudden, leaving the people of our community in mass panic and fear for their lives."
Gournadi police OC Afzal Hossain said the miscreants who vandalized the temples had fled before they arrived at the scene. “But we will investigate and take action."
Local resident Prashant Bala said exemplary punishment should be given to the person responsible for the comment on Facebook that caused the attacks, regardless of their community.