International
oi-Prakash KL
Cops
have
arrested
six
people
for
destroying
the
Saraswati
idol
and
attacking
worshippers.
Dhaka,
Jan
27:
In
yet
another
instance
of
attack
on
Hindus
worshipping
place,
a
bunch
of
minors
vandalised
the
idol
of
Goddess
Saraswati
in
Bangladesh.
The
incident
is
reported
from
Naraich
village
in
Mohanganj
upazila
in
the
Netrakona
district
in
the
Mymensingh
Division
on
Thursday.
As
per
the
report,
the
group
of
about
9-10
Islamists
started
taking
pictures
and
video
of
the
idol
during
aarti.
The
organisers
told
them
not
to
take
it
which
did
not
go
well
with
the
youths
and
there
was
a
heated
verbal
exchange
between
them
and
the
organisers.
As
a
result,
the
Islamists
attacked
the
Hindu
worshipers
and
destroyed
the
idol
of
Saraswati.
Two
people
were
seriously
injured
when
the
group
of
9-10
people
assaulted
the
organisers.
The
victims
were
identified
as
Hriday
Biswas
and
Shayan
Sarkar
and
were
taken
to
the
Mohanganj
Upazila
Health
Complex
for
treatment.
The
minors
hail
from
nearby
Hatnaiya
village.
Once
the
news
reached
the
cops,
they
rushed
to
the
spot
to
calm
down
the
situation.
Nishad,
Farook
Mia,
Apu
Mia,
SM
Munna
Khan,
Sabikul
Mia
and
Anon
Mia
have
been
arrested
in
connection
with
the
case.
“I
am
going
to
visit
the
scene.
Legal
action
is
being
taken
against
the
accused.
More
security
measures
will
be
implemented
to
avoid
any
such
untoward
incident
during
upcoming
pujas,”
Upazila
Executive
Officer
Chhabbir
Ahmed
Akunji
told
Ajker
Patrika.
In
a
similar
incident
on
January
23,
several
idols
of
Goddess
Saraswati
in
Purbadhala
Bazaar
were
destroyed
in
the
Netrakona
district
in
the
Mymensingh
Division
of
Bangladesh
by
a
man
called
Akram.
The
two
incidents
were
reported
at
a
time
when
Bangladesh
National
Hindu
Grand
Alliance
claimed
154
religious
minorities,
including
Hindus,
were
killed
in
Bangladesh
in
2022.
The
Bangladesh
National
Hindu
Grand
Alliance
revealed
that
39
women
belonging
to
minority
communities
were
raped
(27
of
them
were
gang-raped).
About
14
of
the
victims
were
killed
after
committing
rape
and
one
lakh
95,
991
families
have
insecurity.
The
annual
report
submitted
by
the
alliance
stated
that
445
families
have
been
forced
to
leave
the
country.
89,990
acres
of
land
belonging
to
minority
communities
have
been
encroached
upon.
572
families
were
evicted
from
the
homestead,
3
thousand
694
families
attempted
to
be
evicted,
35,
800
families
were
threatened
with
eviction.
Story first published: Friday, January 27, 2023, 16:38 [IST]