Attacks On Durga Puja Pavilions ‘Pre-Planned’: BD Home Minister

Asaduzzaman Khan, Bangladesh Minister of Home Affairs on Sunday termed the attacks on Durga Puja pavilions in the country as ‘pre-planned’ and said these attacks were aimed at destroying the communal harmony in Bangladesh.

This came after multiple cases have been filed against hundreds of named and unnamed people for the attacks in Comilla on Wednesday, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

The alleged defamation of the Holy Quran and subsequent attacks on the Hindus in Comilla were premeditated and aimed at destroying the communal harmony in Bangladesh, the Home Minister said. “It appears to us that it was a motivated act instigated by a vested group,” he added.

When he was asked about the reason behind the Comilla incident, the minister said, “We’ll make it public once we get all the evidence and those who were involved in it will be given exemplary punishment.”

“Not only in Comilla, but attempts were also made to destabilize the country previously through communal violence in Ramu and Nasirnagar,” Khan was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.

“No incident has been reported since Saturday night. Our security forces are working patiently based on intelligence information. Those who are trying to destroy communal peace will not succeed,” Khan added.

The Home Minister’s remarks came after Wednesday’s communal violence that sparked off in several places in Bangladesh after news broke on social media about the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran at a Durga Puja venue on the banks of the Nanuar Dighi. Several puja venues were vandalized in the area of Chandpur, Chittagong, Gazipur, Bandarban, Chapainawabganj, and Moulvibazar. The clashes resulted in several casualties, reported the Dhaka Tribune.

On Friday, a man named Jatan Kumar Saha was also killed and 17 others were injured in an attack in Begumganj Upazila of the country’s Noakhali district during Durga puja celebrations on Vijaya Dashami, the Dhaka Tribune reported. (ANI)