Bangladesh: Muslim mob screaming ‘Allahu akbar’ attacks and robs Hindu temple ahead of Holi

After unleashing mammoth violence on the Hindus during the Hindu festival of Durga Puja in October 2021, some Muslims in Bangladesh are at it again; this time, the Hindu festival of Holi stands sacrificed at the altar of their frenzied jihad violence. While the Muslims targeted the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple in Noakhali, Chittagong during the Durga Pujas, it was now time for the association’s Dhaka temple to pay the penalty for standing on Islamic soil.

On the evening of Thursday, March 17, a riotous mob of around 200 Muslims launched a violent attack on the ISKCON temple situated on the Lalmohan Saha Street at Wari, Old Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) reports that a 62-year-old Muslim, vicious attack; under his supervision, the mob of enraged Muslims carrying rods, sticks, hammers, sickles and other makeshift rustic weapons stormed into the Hindu religious establishment. They took down the southern wall of the temple, demolished several old structures, vandalized the premises, desecrated the idols of Hindu deities that had been placed in the temple, and robbed the temple of cash and other expensive articles. Hindu devotees in the temple were not spared, either.  

India Today confirms that three men, Nihar Halder, Sumantra Chandra Shravan, and Rajiv Bhadra, sustained serious injuries during the mayhem. The extent of damage caused by the mob attack can be seen in the images and videos that have been shared across social media, going viral in the early hours of March 18. When the Hindu community across the world was preparing for Holi celebrations, the festival of colors, disturbing video of the chaos at the Sri Sri Radhakanta Jiu Mandir not only shocked the Hindu community, but left damaging and terrorizing effects on its collective psychology.

The attack on the Radhakanta ISKCON temple in Dhaka is ongoing. The Devotees informed the police but the police are not taking any action. (17-03-22)#savebangladeshihindus pic.twitter.com/QGOuoygmGs

— Voice Of Bangladeshi Hindus ?? (@VoiceOfHindu71) March 17, 2022

Hindus from Bangladesh took to Twitter to share their agony, alleging that although the Hindus called the local police, they took no action to curb on contain the bedlam. The violent mob continued to tear down the temple while screaming the slogan “Allahu akbar.”

The Muslim mob abducted a Hindu youth, Nihar, with the intention of murder, but the police were reluctant to rescue him. In a video that Hindu activist Pandit Pradip Chandra shared on social media, an injured ISKCON devotee recounted the appalling details of the attack: “They (the Muslim mob) forcibly took Nihar with them. I informed the police, but they did not believe me. Initially, the police had completely denied the possibility of anyone being abducted. Only after I pleaded with the police multiple times did they start the search for Nihar. We were finally able to find him.”

But the trauma didn’t end.

“While I was returning, they ambushed me and pounced on me. They kicked me, punched me, snatched my phone, injured my back,” he added, showing the fresh wound on his elbow.

The complaint lodged with the police reads that the Muslim mob looted valuables worth 500,000 Bangladeshi taka ($5,800) from the temple. Complainant Sumantra Chandra emphasized that the mobs also hurled stones at the temple and threatened to bury alive the Hindu devotees who were present there.

Sending that this incident would get little to no media attention, an Indian media house reached out to the administration of the destroyed temple. Those officials revealed the plot of Land Jihad behind the attack. Muslims have been eyeing this property for quite some time, and had made attempts to encroach upon it earlier. Though the temple authorities lodged a case against the miscreants, the virulence of the attack on the eve of Holi only demonstrates the inefficiency and insincerity of Bangladesh police; their shameful indifference towards the safety, security and suffering of the Hindu citizens of the Islamic country stands exposed.  

Land Jihad is a common occurrence in Bangladesh; this criminal practice is gradually becoming commonplace in several Indian towns that Muslims dominate. Add to that the occasion of a Hindu festival which incidentally falls on same the day of the Islamic Shab-e-Barat. This provided a seamless combination to incite a Muslim mob to start unrest, eventually destroying properties that belong to “kafirs” and injure some of them, if not kill them.  A lame and futile administration worked to encourage the violent ambitions of these mobs. This is an emerging trend in Bangladesh. As a result, no Hindu festival has passed without bloodshed in recent years.