Attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh: 3,721 houses, temples vandalized in 9 years

Dhaka [Bangladesh] October 19 (ANI): A rights group informed that around 3,721 attacks were reported on the Hindu community in Bangladesh in the last nine years.
The data came from a prominent rights group, Ain o Salish Kendra which also stated that 2021 has so far been the deadliest year in the last five years, Dhaka Tribune reported.
At least 1,678 cases of vandalism and arson attacks on Hindu temples, idols and places of worship were reported in the same period Dhaka Tribune reported citing the report published online.
Besides, 18 Hindu families have come under attack in the last three years.
The rights activists also informed that the number did not represent the real situation as the media covers only the bigger picture that comes to light.
In the last nine years, the worst situation was in 2014 when 1,201 houses of minorities and set-ups were vandalized by the miscreants.
According to the rights group, around 196 houses, trading centres, temples, monasteries and statues were also vandalized by the end of September this year, Dhaka Tribune reported.
Meanwhile, the rumour about the copy of a Quran being desecrated in Comilla has also ignited a series of communal attacks against the minority in Bangladesh, resulting in a number of deaths.
Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has claimed that around 70 people were injured in the attacks while around 130 houses, shops, trading centres or temples were vandalized in the recent violence in the country, Dhaka Tribune reported.
Recent communal violence broke out in several places in Bangladesh after ‘news’ broke on social media about the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran at a Durga Puja venue on the bank of Nanuar Dighi.
Several puja venues were vandalized in the area of Chandpur, Chittagong, Gazipur, Bandarban, Chapainawabganj, and Moulvibazar. The clashes resulted in several casualties, reported Dhaka Tribune.
On Friday, one man named Jatan Kumar Saha was also killed and 17 others were injured in an attack in Begumganj Upazila of the country’s Noakhali district during Durga puja celebrations on Vijaya Dashami, Dhaka Tribune reported. (ANI)