Protests continue in NE states against B'desh communal violence

Agartala, Oct 21 (IANS) Protests against the recent communal violence in Bangladesh continued in Tripura and other northeastern states with the CPI-M and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Thursday urging the government in Dhaka to protect the lives and properties of the minorities and their religious institutions.

A VHP delegation on Thursday met the Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner (AHC) in Agartala, Mohammad Jobayed Hosen and urged him to request the Dhaka government to ensure action against those who carried out the violence.

The VHP sent a letter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina through the AHC demanding to protect the lives and properties of the Hindus and punish the perpetrators.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist's (CPI-M) Tripura Secretary Jitendra Chaudhury said that fundamentalist forces in Bangladesh as part of their pre-planned conspiracies attacked the minorities in the violence which ended last week.

"We believe that the Bangladesh government would take strict action against those who attacked and vandalized the houses and properties of minorities," said Chaudhury, who is also the central committee member of the Left party.

In a separate event, 13 mass and social organisations also on Thursday jointly met the Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner demanding full protection of the minorities.

In view of the violence, a three-day film festival of the Bangladesh government in Agartala, which was scheduled to commence on Thursday, has been postponed "due to unavoidable circumstances".

"In the proposed film festival, 34 films, mostly on 'Mukti Yuddha' (1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh), were planned to be screened from October 21 to 23 in the Rabindra Satabarshiki Auditorium," an official told IANS.

As per media reports, the mob violence erupted in Comilla on October 13, after unconfirmed posts went viral on social media about the alleged desecration of the Quran at a Durga Puja venue, following which Hindu temples were vandalised.

Reports quoting Rana Dasgupta, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha Christian Oikya Parishad, the death toll in the communal violence in Bangladesh has increased to six, while at least 70 Hindu temples and scores of houses and huge properties were damaged across the country.