City Desk: Bangladesh mission in Agartala came under attack by a group of Indians on Monday afternoon during their protests demanding the release of Bangladesh Hindu community leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, now in jail in a sedition case. The Inquilab Mancha marched towards the Indian High Commission in Dhaka from Gulshan-2 circle on Friday to submit a memorandum to the Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh protesting at the attack on Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala.
Minutes after the march began at about 4:00pm, the police intercepted it while a huge number of law enforcers blocked both sides of the road and the police also brought armoured personnel carriers and water cannons. The traffic movement in the city’s diplomatic zone was halted for more than 45 minutes due to the protests.

The protesters held a brief rally in the face of interception. Addressing the rally, Inquilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi said that Hindutva mobs kept attacking Muslim, Christian and Dalit communities as they had not spared the Bangladesh mission in Agatala.

‘Hindutva politicians’ constant threats to demolish religious sites, churches and shrines like Ajmer Sharif has been further fueling  intolerance in the region,’ he said, adding that India largely violated the rights of religious and ethnic minority communities. All the people in Bangladesh live in religious harmony regardless of their ethnicity and religion, he said.

The protesters held placards inscribed with slogans, including ‘Babri’s fall a day recall, protect minorities, justice for all’, ‘Minority women are not paraded naked on our streets’, ‘India has become Asian Israel’ and ‘Hindutva Must Stop! Hindutva is Heinous’.

Later, three members of the Inquilab Mancha, including its spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi and two members Fatema Tasnim Jhuma and Abdullah Al Jaber handed over the memorandum to a security official of the high commission.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Gulshan division deputy commissioner Mohammad Tareq Mahmud told New Age that it was a peaceful demonstration and three leaders submitted the memorandum to a security official with the help of the officials of the DMP’s Diplomatic Security Division.
He said, ‘We will not allow any anarchy in the diplomatic zone and that is why we have deployed such a number of police members. Anyone can hold peaceful protests considering their rights.