Dhaka, July 29 (IANS) Amid rising violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh, the Awami League has accused the current Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of failing to protect the Hindu families who have repeatedly been targeted during periods of political upheaval.
The party highlighted a recent brutal incident in Lalmohan Upazila of Bhola district in Bangladesh, where a Hindu man, Gopal Krishna Das and his family, including women, were subjected to a violent attack despite a court ruling in their favour over a land dispute case.
“The attackers did not come solely to seize the property. In broad daylight, they entered the family’s home and severely assaulted Gopal Krishna Das and his wife, Akhi Rani Das. The violence reportedly escalated further as the couple’s two daughters were assaulted and abused, while the family’s elderly father was allegedly tortured by being submerged in water,” said the Awami League
The party said that the vandalism and looting of Das’s house raised concerns over inadequate protection of the lives and property of ordinary citizens, especially minorities.
Citing critics, the party noted that “when a family cannot live safely on its own ancestral land even after obtaining a favourable court ruling, and when women are allegedly assaulted in broad daylight, it raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the rule of law and the state’s ability to protect its citizens.”
Condemning the brutal attack, the Awami League alleged that whenever the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and its affiliated forces have exercised direct or indirect influence in Bangladesh, the country’s religious minority communities have repeatedly faced severe insecurity and threats to their lives.
“The horrific memories of widespread attacks on minorities following the 2001 election remain vivid in the minds of many Bangladeshis. History shows that with every major political transition, minority Hindu families have repeatedly become targets, with even women and elderly family members spared no mercy,” it added.
Amid escalating violence against minorities across Bangladesh, a leading minority human rights organisation on Monday documented at least 257 incidents of communal violence across the country during the first half of this year, resulting in 44 deaths.
In its latest findings, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, a human rights organisation working against religious discrimination, said that the 257 incidents included 40 cases that claimed 44 lives; 5 incidents of violence against women, including rape and gang rape; and 10 cases of abduction, extortion, and torture.
As per the findings, the documented incidents included 42 cases involving attacks, death threats and physical abuse of minorities; 62 attacks on places of worship involving idol vandalism, looting and arson; 15 cases involving the occupation or attempted occupation of land belonging to religious institutions; and 47 incidents targeting homes and business establishments through attacks, vandalism, looting and arson.
It also recorded nine incidents of arrests and harassment over blasphemy allegations, 21 cases involving the forcible occupation of homes, land and business properties, and six incidents categorised as other forms of communal violence.
–IANS
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