Bangladesh Police identify the person behind Cumilla violence

The Bangladesh Police have identified the person, who allegedly put the Holy Quran inside a Mandap in Cumilla town during the Durga Puja, which led to communal disturbance at several places in the country last week. Based on the analysis of the CCTV footage, the Police identified Iqbal Hossain, a resident of Cumilla as the person who did this act.A photo of the book kept on the lap of Lord Hanuman was shared on social media which went viral. Subsequently, mobs attacked the temples, homes and business establishments of the minority Hindu community in Cumilla. Similar incidents were reported from Noakhali, Rangpur and several other places of Bangladesh over the next few days. The Police have filed 72 cases relating to the incidents of vandalism of temples and attacks on Hindu houses and business establishments after the incident. More than 450 people have been arrested so far including the person who first put the offending image from the Durga Mandap in Cumilla on social media.

Meanwhile,former US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has condemned the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh during Durga Puja. She criticised the attackers as "jihadists" who "believe it's pleasing to God to burn and destroy temples." In a tweet she said, it broke my heart to see such hate and violence directed towards devotees of God in their temples in Bangladesh. 

Violence against Hindus in Bangladesh: for jihadists to believe it's pleasing to God to burn and destroy temples shows how far away from God they really are. pic.twitter.com/uoYFxqAnfz

— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) October 21, 2021

The Bangladesh government had promised swift action against those behind the attacks. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had said she would "hunt down" the attackers.