Protesters barge into Bangladesh mission in Agartala, pull down flag

DHAKA: Bangladesh urged India on Monday to take immediate action against protesters who broke into its consulate in the northeastern Indian state of Tripura, even as India said security was being beefed up at Bangladeshi diplomatic missions.Hindu groups held protests in some areas of India on Monday against Bangladesh’s arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das last week, and more than 50 protesters breached the Bangladeshi consulate in Tripura’s capital Agartala, local media reported.

Bangladesh’s interim government said that protesters had broken down the mission’s main gate, damaged property inside, vandalised the flag pole and desecrated the national flag, leaving staff with a “deep sense of insecurity”.

“The government of Bangladesh calls upon the government of India to take immediate action to address this incident, to undertake a thorough investigation ... to prevent any further acts of violence against the diplomatic missions of Bangladesh,” it said in a statement.

India, meanwhile, said the incident was “deeply regrettable” and diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted “under any circumstances”. “The government is taking action to step up security arrangements for the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and their Deputy/Assistant High Commissions in the country,” the Indian foreign ministry said.

Das’ arrest at Dhaka airport on multiple charges, including sedition, sparked protests in Bangladesh’s capital and in the port city of Chittagong, where a lawyer was killed as demonstrators clashed with security forces.

Hindu-majority India had also condemned the arrest of Das, who is associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and expressed concerns over attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

The Bangladeshi foreign ministry, in response, said that the country’s government does not interfere in the judiciary’s work, and a court of law was dealing with the matter. Hindus constitute about 8 percent of Bangladesh’s population of 170 million people.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka said, “Bangladesh deeply resents the violent demonstration and attack”. “The accounts received conclusively attest that the protesters were allowed to aggress into the premises, by breaking down the main gate of Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in a pre-planned manner,” it said.