Three Hindu temples vandalised in Bangladesh; one arrested

Over two consecutive days, miscreants targeted three Hindu temples in Bangladesh, vandalising eight idols in Mymensingh and Dinajpur districts, according to local media reports.

Law enforcement authorities have arrested a 27-year-old suspect in connection with one of the incidents, police confirmed.

Quoting temple sources and locals, Abul Khayer, officer-in-charge (OC) of Haluaghat Police Station said on Saturday that miscreants ransacked two idols of Bonderpara Temple in the Shakuai union of Haluaghat in the early hours of Friday.

The attacks are the latest in a string of incidents targeting the minority Hindu community in the country. In Mymensingh, three idols in two temples were destroyed during the early hours of Thursday and Friday.

The Bonderpara Temple in Shakuai Union, Haluaghat, was attacked on Friday, while another idol was damaged at Polashkanda Kali Temple in Beeldora Union the previous day.

In a similar incident on November 29, three temples in Chattogram were vandalised by a mob shouting slogans.

The attack followed days of protests and violence after Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu monk and former ISKCON Bangladesh member, was arrested on sedition charges.

Das was detained on November 25 at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, sparking widespread demonstrations by his supporters.

The temple authorities confirmed the extent of the damage that occurred after the earlier attack, which included broken gates and other vandalised structures.

Kotwali Police Station chief Abdul Karim confirmed the attack and stated that the assailants made deliberate attempts to damage the temples.

Tapan Das, a permanent member of the Santaneshwar Matri Temple management committee, recounted the harrowing events, stating that the attackers began chanting anti-Hindu and anti-ISKCON slogans as they arrived in large numbers.

The violence has been brewing in Chattogram since the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, a former member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), who was detained on charges of disrespecting the Bangladesh national flag. The protests and unrest surrounding his arrest have escalated tensions in the region.

These incidents come amid strained diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh. Tensions have heightened since the interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, took power on August 5 after Sheikh Hasina's ouster during a student-led uprising.

Observers note that these attacks underline growing concerns over the safety of minority communities in Bangladesh. Rights groups have urged the authorities to take swift and decisive action to ensure justice and prevent further incidents.