January 11th 2025.
The Bangladesh government has stated that a large number of attacks against minority communities since August 4th of last year were motivated by political reasons rather than being communal in nature. According to a recent police report, the majority of these incidents were not fueled by religious differences, but rather by political tensions within the country. In response to these attacks, the police have set up a WhatsApp number to directly receive complaints and maintain communication with the minority community.
The Chief Adviser's press wing announced that the police conducted an investigation after the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council claimed that there were over 2,000 incidents of communal violence in the span of a day before deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country on August 5th. Out of these reported incidents, the police have registered 62 cases and arrested 35 individuals based on their investigations. However, after looking into the matter, it was discovered that the majority of these attacks were politically motivated, with only a small number being truly communal in nature. The statement from the CA's office explained that out of the 2,010 incidents reported by the Council, only 20 were confirmed to be communal, while 161 were found to be false claims.
The report also revealed that a significant number of these incidents occurred on August 5th, 2024, the day of Hasina's ousting. Additionally, there were 65 incidents on August 4th and 70 on August 6th. Apart from the Council's claims, the police received an additional 134 allegations of communal violence from August 5th to January 8th, 2025. The police took these complaints seriously and responded by filing 53 cases and arresting 65 offenders. In total, 115 cases have been registered since August 4th, and 100 people have been arrested in connection with communal attacks.
Before compiling the report, the Bangladesh police collected a list of allegations from the Council and spoke with individuals who claimed to have been targeted in the violence. The police also conducted visits to each location and met with those mentioned in the Council's report. Currently, the police have established a WhatsApp number to receive reports of communal attacks and maintain regular contact with minority community leaders.
The interim government has declared a zero-tolerance policy towards communal attacks and has instructed the police to take swift action against the perpetrators. The government has also announced that it will provide compensation to the victims. The recent spate of attacks on minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh has raised concerns in neighboring country India. The arrest of a Hindu monk on sedition charges further escalated tensions, which were addressed by India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during his visit to Dhaka in December.
Before Misri's visit, the head of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, had urged religious leaders to assist in gathering accurate information about attacks on minorities and bringing the responsible individuals to justice. In a separate statement, the press wing revealed that the police have arrested the main suspect in the murder of a 60-year-old Hindu man at a crematorium in Natore district on December 21st, 2024. The police report suggests that the victim had been ill for some time and had been staying at the Harishpur Mahashan Ghat. The arrested individual, Sabuj Hossain, 24, confessed to the crime and implicated several others. It was revealed that the victim was strangled when he tried to raise the alarm while the culprits were stealing bronze plates from the crematorium.
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