Hindu homes, temple vandalised in Bangladesh’s Narail over FB post

A temple, a grocery store and several houses of the Hindu community were vandalised in southwestern Bangladesh by a mob over a Facebook post, according to local media reports on Sunday (July 17).

The incident happened in Sahapara area of Lohagara, Narail, about 150 kilometres from Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka.

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A case has been registered against 250 unidentified persons and three have been arrested so far, reports said.

Angry villagers went on a rampage in the afternoon, alleging that an 18-year-old Hindu boy made a post on Facebook that hurt their religious feelings, officials said, according to a Daily Star report.

Police fire warning shots

Several houses including the boy’s were attacked. Police fired warning shots to disperse the mob. The boy who made the Facebook post was later arrested, reports said.

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After Juma prayers on Friday (July 15), the villagers went to a grocery store owned by the individual’s father and vandalised it. The mob then attacked and vandalised several houses, including the family’s, the newspaper report added.

“So far, three people have been arrested in connection with the case filed over the vandalism of houses, shops and the attack on two temples. The operation to arrest the rest continues and the other accused will also be arrested soon,” Narail Superintendent of Police Prabir Kumar Roy said.

“After one group looted all our valuables, another group came and found our door open. As there was nothing left to loot, they set our home on fire,” 62-year-old Deepali Rani Saha, whose house was attacked, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

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“Only because the student is Hindu and I (too) am Hindu, my house was burnt down. I don’t know how long this threat of violence will haunt us. Who will give us justice? Who will give us security? … If I were in the house while they set it on fire, I would have died. God saved me. But is this any way to survive? All I have now is the sari on my body,” she added.

Attacks on religious minorities in Muslim-majority Bangladesh are increasing and many of them happened after rumours or fake posts spread through social media, a bdnews24 website report said.

Mortaza condemns violence

Several writers including Parliamentarian and former Bangladesh cricket captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza have condemned the violence. There were nationwide protests.

“I cannot imagine that this is the same Narail that we have taken pride in since we were children… I do not know such Narail where there is no communal harmony. On Friday, an incident happened in our area, which shocked me deeply. Everyone is specially requested to please refrain from doing things that disturb the peace and order of the area,” Mortaza, who represents Narail, said in a Facebook post.

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“Please keep calm. Don’t fall into the trap of conspirators and tarnish the legacy of thousand years of communal harmony of Narail by committing one such incident after another,” he added.

Previous incidents

Last year, some Hindu temples in Bangladesh were vandalised by unidentified Muslim bigots during the Durga Puja celebrations, prompting the government to deploy paramilitary forces in 22 districts after four people were killed and many others injured in riots.

According to a report by legal rights group Ain O Salish Kendra, 3,679 attacks were carried out on the Hindu community in Bangladesh between January 2013 and September 2021.

(With inputs from agencies)