Bangladesh: Awami League says 'armed BNP goons' attack Hindu man, temples

Dhaka, July 10 (IANS) The Awami League on Thursday slammed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for launching a violent assault on a Hindu community member and threatening the other members of the minority community with "eviction if they didn't leave" Bangladesh.

BNP leader Shahidul Islam and "his armed goons" launched a violent assault on the home of Bijoy Chandra Roy, a member of the Hindu community, according to the Awami League, who also slammed the continued persecution of the Hindus in Bangladesh since the Yunus administration took over.

The violent incident reportedly unfolded on Saturday afternoon in the Dholarhat Union, Ruhia Thana, Thakurgaon District of the South Asian nation.

Condemning the "horrifying act" on X, the party stated, "They demolished the Mansa temple, smashed two sacred idols, vandalised homes, set fires, and threatened Hindus with eviction if they didn't leave the country."

Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party also questioned whether "violence, intimidation and ethnic cleansing" is the BNP's idea of "democracy."

The Awami League, along with several human rights organisations, have repeatedly been slamming Bangladeshi interim government's Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus over the increasing cases of atrocities against the minorities in the South Asian nation since the ouster of Hasina.

The party has also condemned another incident of ongoing "inhuman persecution" of the Hindu community and devastation of their places of worship.

"Attacks on homes of religious minorities, looting, arson, and indiscriminate killings continue unabated -- acts that amount to genocide. While these atrocities were previously carried out under the protection of this illegitimate, fascist Yunus regime, it is now the regime itself that is launching attacks on the Hindu community," read a recent statement issued by the Awami League.

Last month, the Durga temple in Dhaka's Khilkhet area was bulldozed by local authorities.

Following this, another incident of violence was reported where a Hindu woman was brutally gang raped at her home in Cumilla district.

The woman was assaulted while her attackers, who were linked to the BNP, filmed the assault and circulated the footage.

Last week, an exhibition depicting the ongoing "gross human rights violations" in Bangladesh, including the arrest of prominent Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, under the current Yunus administration, concluded at the United Nations in Geneva during the regular session of the 59th Human Rights Commission.

Geneva-based human rights organisation International Forum for Secular Bangladesh, Bangladesh Minority Alliance (Switzerland Chapter) and Tumuku Development and Cultural Union jointly organised the three-day poster exhibition during the UNHRC session.

According to the forum, numerous human rights activists and diplomats commented on the ongoing minority persecution and crimes against human rights in Bangladesh, emphasising that, after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, the current Yunus-led interim government is heading towards a "dysfunctional failed state and civil war due to the increasing terrorist policies."

--IANS

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