Arson attack: 29 homes of Hindus set on fire in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi Hindus stage a demonstration in Dhaka on Monday. Pics/AFP

A group of assailants has set on fire at least 29 homes of Hindus in Bangladesh over an alleged blasphemous social media post amidst protests by the minority community against temple vandalism incidents during the Durga Puja celebrations last week, media reports said on Monday.

The arson attack happened late on Sunday on a village in Rangpur district's Pirgonj upazila, about 255 kms from here, the bdnews24.com reported. The police rushed to a fishermen neighbourhood as tension mounted over a rumour that a young Hindu man of the village had "dishonoured religion" in a Facebook post, the report quoted district's superintendent of police Mohammad Qamruzzaman as saying. As the police stood guard around the man's home, the attackers set fire to other homes nearby, the report said.

The Fire Service Control Room said that their report from the scene indicates that 29 residential houses, two kitchens, two barns and 20 haystacks belonging to 15 different owners were torched in Pirgonj's Majhipara, it said, adding that an "unruly crowd" has been identified as the cause of fire. The fire service received a report of the fire at 8:45 pm and finally put it out by 4:10 am, the report said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The arson incident occurred amid rising communal tension over an alleged blasphemy incident at a Durga Puja venue in Cumilla which led to attacks on Hindu temples and clashes between vandals and the police in Cumilla, Chandpur, Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Bandarban, Moulvibazar, Gazipur, Chapainawabganj and Feni.

ISKCON calls upon Hasina govt to act

Expressing shock over the recent series of violent attacks at Hindu minority in Bangladesh, the ISKCON called upon the PM Sheikh Hasina government to take swift action to bring an end to the violence and demanded that perpetrators of the attacks should be brought to justice. In an official statement issued on Sunday, ISKCON said multiple temples, homes, shops and individuals were attacked across several districts of the country.

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