Bangladesh Hindus

On May 11, 2014, a team comprising almost 200 radical Muslim youths led by Bajlur Rahman Nayeem, local leader of Awami League at Niyamatpur sub-district within the district of Naogaon in Bangladesh, assailed a temple of the minority Hindu community located beside the crematorium there. It has been learnt, radicals came in motorbikes and also on foot and within a few minutes both temple and hallowed deity within it were defiled, destroyed and also razed to the ground sending a shudder of fear among Hindus living in the adjoining villages of Maharajpur, Kochpara, Kutubpur and Manpur. The Shiva temple was built up only a few months back and Kirtan used to happen in the temple premises daily in the evening. The attack took place while Hindus were preparing for Kirtan. The attack, as found later on, was an aggression to grab the Hindu property. As part of the attack, a few Hindus including Dayal Chandra Seal, Dwijen Chabdra Barman and Naren Karmakar were beaten mercilessly and they h

The Daily Star, 20 April 2013 Unidentified criminals set a 200-year-old Hindu temple ablaze at Rajoir upazila in Madaripur in the wee hours [of April 19th]. Police and locals said miscreants torched the Kali Mandir at Mahendradi village sometime after midnight. Dadon Kanta, chairman of Haridashdi-Mahendradi upazila, suspects that Jamaat or BNP men are behind the attack. Police, meanwhile, arrested Haridashdi-Mahendradi union unit BNP President Abul Kalam Azad yesterday afternoon suspecting his involvement in the incident. Mofazzal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Rajoir Police Station, said they were yet to identify the attackers and that they were investigating the incident. Uttam Banerjee, president of the temple managing committee, said locals rushed to the spot on seeing the flames but the temple had been badly burnt before they could bring the flames under control. In December last year, miscreants vandalised some idols of the same temple, he added. Tem