Congress urges Centre to take up with Bangladesh attacks on Hindus

Hindu homes were attacked after a FB post welcoming Macron's actions sparked outrage

bangladesh-protests-macron-france-ap Bangladeshi Muslims protesting the French presidents support of secular laws allowing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad march to lay siege on the French Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Nov.2, 2020 |AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu

Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Monday voiced concern over reports of attack on minority Hindu community in some parts of Bangladesh and urged the Centre to take up the issue immediately with the neighbouring country.

His statement came in the wake of media reports that houses of several Hindu families have been vandalised and burnt by radical Islamists in Bangladesh's Comilla district over rumours about an alleged Facebook post slandering Islam.

"It is reported that Hindu families in Bangladesh have been targeted by fundamentalist forces resulting in the arsoning and other violence as a reprisal of the stand taken by our government," Chowdhury said in a statement.

Asked what he meant by "reprisal of the Indian stand", Chowdhury said he indicated the Centre's pledge to France for jointly fighting global terror.

"There are rumours pouring in that Hindus have been attacked over the issue of decapitation (of a teacher suburb) and Macron's statement in France. The veracity of the news is yet to be clarified," Choudhury said in a tweet.

"Indian government should take up the issue with Bangladesh government as immediately as possible so as to prevent further escalation," he said.

According to a media report from Dhaka on Monday, households were vandalised and set on fire on Sunday after a Bangladeshi man, who lives in France, allegedly praised French President Emmanuel Macron over Facebook for taking steps against inhumane ideologies following the decapitation of the teacher in a Paris suburb on October 16 for showing caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.

The headmaster of a kindergarten school in Purbo Dhour in Bangladesh's Comilla district had welcomed Macron's action in his comment on the post.

As the rumours about the Facebook post spread, tension mounted in the area on Saturday. The police arrested two persons, including the headmaster of the kindergarten, on charges of hurting the religious sentiments on Sunday, the report said.

The other person is a resident of nearby Andikot village, the report added.

Bangladeshi authorities have deployed four platoons of police in Kurbanpur and Andikot villages to keep the situation under control.

The Bangladesh police have initiated a case under the Digital Security Act against the two arrested. 

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