Dozens arrested for attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh

Police in Bangladesh have arrested dozens of people following fresh violence against Hindus, the country’s biggest minority community, a senior officer told reporters on Sunday.

Police in Bangladesh have arrested dozens of people following fresh violence against Hindus, the country’s biggest minority community, a senior officer told reporters on Sunday.

Bangladeshi social activists hold a banner and participate in a rally held to protest against communal violence in the country, in Dhaka. (AP File Photo)

The Hindu community in the Brahmanbairs district has been under attack after a local youth allegedly shared a Facebook post that Islamic hardliners said denigrated the Masjid al-Haram — a holy site for Muslims.

Read | Bangladesh: Hindu temples vandalised, houses attacked by mob over Facebook post

Muslim hardliners protested and demanded action against the Hindu youth, who denies sharing the post. Police arrested the youth for hurting religious sentiments, but the arrest failed to defuse the tension.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) estimates more than one hundred Hindu houses and 17 temples have been vandalised and looted since the violence broke out on Oct 30.

“The purpose of the attacks is to free this soil from minority community and also to occupy their properties and assets,” Rana Dasgupta, a general secretary at the BHBCUC told Reuters.

Read | Fresh attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, houses torched