The violence that has been going on in Bangladesh since the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s government is showing no signs of stopping. Once again a case of violence has come to light in the temple. The ISKCON temple in Meharpur, an area on the India-Bangladesh border and a stronghold of Jamaat-e-Islami, was attacked and the Bhagavad Gita was burnt. Along with this, the harmonium kept in the temple was broken. According to the information, the mob also looted and set fire to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
Prabhu ji, in-charge of the temple, said that there has been an attack on the minorities. The mob attack took place before the fifth day at around 5:30. They had brought petrol bombs and explosives along with them. There were 16 of us in the temple at that time. All the things present here including jewellery, ancient texts were burnt. The donation received for the construction of the temple, approximately ten lakh taka (about Rs 6.5 lakh) was looted. The motorcycle kept in the temple property was also burnt.
Apart from this, he told that we had texts older than two hundred years, they were also burnt. We used to serve Jagannath ji at this very place, they also looted and took away. Suddenly a mob came to the temple and attacked the temple. All the items and religious books kept in the temple have been burnt to ashes. Followers are coming to the spot and saving the remaining books.
Let us tell you that this ISKCON temple was running in a rented house and donations were collected to build a separate temple.
‘Apprehensions among Muslims also…’
At the same time, there is a fear in the minds of the Muslims of Bangladesh that under the pressure of fundamentalists, their democratically run country may become an Islamic country with the identity of a Bengali speaking country. While talking to Aaj Tak, Islam Mohammad, a resident of Dhaka, said that the identity of Bangladesh is of the Bengali people, where Hindus and Muslims live together, but some people want a system like an Islamic country to be established here, but we will not let this happen.
Niaz also runs a business in Dhaka and he also feels that the image of Bangladesh has been tarnished because of some fundamentalists, who attacked and targeted Hindus under the guise of the movement. Niaz says that many Hindus live with us and we are protecting them in this difficulty and the people who did bad things to them are not among us. The headquarters of Bangladesh Awami League Party, just a short distance from Rashtrapati Bhavan in the VIP area of Dhaka, was also the first to be targeted by the protesters on August 5.
Also read: How much Hindu population in Bangladesh, how many have migrated since 1971, how many refugees in India?, know every answer
Police missing amid violence and arson
The anger in Bangladesh may have subsided, but the scars of violence and arson are still fresh. Awami League Party supporter Karim Ul Haq told Aaj Tak that on that day the hoodlums not only demolished the office but also looted goods worth lakhs of rupees. From the room of party chief Sheikh Hasina to the party meeting hall and all parts of the building have been either burnt or vandalized.
Meanwhile, police is missing from the streets of Bangladesh. The police headquarters in the middle of the city is also deserted, which is now being protected by the Bangladesh Army. During the protest, stones were pelted at police personnel and the police headquarters was also targeted, the scars of which are fresh. On Sunday, some policemen had come to protest outside the dilapidated and abandoned headquarters, who want to go back to their jobs.
Karim, one of these policemen, told Aaj Tak that the order to take strict action on the protest actions was from Sheikh Hasina’s government and senior officials in the police department. Karim said that the policemen had obeyed the orders of their officers and due to this order, today the people of the country are searching for the policemen, due to which all the policemen are either underground or hiding. Let us tell you that police stations were burnt in many areas across Bangladesh.
Also read: What happened to the ISKCON temple in Bangladesh due to arson and vandalism, see ground report