Attack on Embassy in Agartala: Bangladesh is angry, India expresses regret
Indian miscreants attacked and vandalized the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala, India. The attack was carried out on Monday afternoon under the banner of ‘Hindu Sangharsh Samiti’. At that time, the national flag of Bangladesh was taken down and torn. The signboard of the High Commission was set on fire. The Indian government has expressed regret over this. However, the Ministry of External Affairs says that the attack was planned. The local police were not active from the beginning. Bangladesh is deeply angry over this incident.
On this day, extremists also protested near the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, India. Under the banner of ‘Vishwa Hindu Parishad’, they took a position within 150 yards of the Bangladesh Mission in that protest. Meanwhile, the state BJP protested at the Petrapole border in India today, alleging ‘insulting the Indian flag and persecution of minorities in Bangladesh’. The party leaders have threatened to stop trade with Bangladesh. Earlier, protests were also held at the Bilonia border on the other side of Feni. In addition, the import of goods through Zakiganj in Sylhet has been stopped due to the obstruction of protesters in Karimganj, India.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement protested in Dhaka, Comilla and Tongi in Gazipur at night in protest of the attack. Earlier, the Bangladesh Student Rights Council held a protest march and rally on the Dhaka University campus.
According to a BBC report, vandalism and desecration of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala took place in protest of the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilit Sanatani Jagran Jote. An organization called Hindu Sangharsh Samity held a meeting in front of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala to protest the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das. After the meeting, a delegation of six members of the organization went inside the High Commission office to submit a memorandum. At that time, some Hindu youths who were outside suddenly entered the Assistant High Commission office. They took down and tore the national flag of Bangladesh. Later, some signboards of the High Commission office were vandalized and set on fire.
The Benapole (Jashore) representative said that several videos of the attack and vandalism at the Assistant High Commission have been circulated on social media. In them, it is seen that more than a hundred miscreants carrying saffron flags and banners entered the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh. They tore down the national flag of Bangladesh from the flagstand in the premises. At that time, the police tried to stop them. Later, the police removed the attackers from the High Commission premises. Members of the Indian Border Guard Force (BGF) were also seen at the scene.
An official of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission told the BBC that the organization would come to submit a deputation and we had already talked to the police about it. The police had told us that a group of some people would come inside and submit a protest letter. When five people under the banner of the Hindu Sangharsh Samiti entered, about 150 more people from the organization appeared outside the gate of the office.
The security of the area is the responsibility of the state government police as it is a diplomatic zone, the official said, “There were about 100 police personnel there against 150 protesters in front of our office. Even then, they opened the gate to enter our office. You can imagine what the situation would be like if 150 people entered at once!”
However, Hindu Sangharsh Samiti executive member BK Roy said in this regard that they did not see what happened outside during the deputation and even after they came with the deputation, they did not see anyone inside the office.
According to the source, according to diplomatic norms, the Assistant High Commission is a sovereign property of Bangladesh. Indian law does not apply inside it. Due to diplomatic immunity, the law enforcement agencies of the host country cannot enter the embassy of any country.
After the attack on the Assistant High Commission, there has been concern among the Bangladeshi officials and employees working there. Bangladeshi students studying in various universities in the country are under threat of attack. They believe that the attack was triggered by rumors published in the Indian media. This was further fueled by the statements of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the post of Tripura Transport Minister Sushant Chowdhury on social media. Some Indian media outlets published the news under the headline “Kolkata-bound bus attacked in Bangladesh, Indians threatened to be killed”.
Sources said that a passenger bus of Shyamoli Transport, which was travelling from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka on Saturday, met with an accident in Brahmanbaria. Tripura’s Transport Minister and several Indian media outlets claimed it was an attack. Sushant Chowdhury posted a picture of the bus on his Verified X account and wrote, Shyamoli Transport was attacked on the Bishwa Road in Brahmanbaria on its way from Tripura to Kolkata. A cargo truck hit the bus, causing it to crash. The bus collided with an auto. At that time, local people continuously threatened the Indian passengers. They shouted anti-India slogans.
Akhaura correspondent said, but there was no attack on the bus. The driver of the bus, Asadul Haque, said that there was no altercation with the Indian passengers or any local common people. I was also surprised to see the news of the attack on the bus in the Indian media.
Bangladesh demands a full investigation: In a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Bangladesh government has called on the Indian government to deal with this incident seriously and conduct a full investigation into the incident. “It is clear from the information received that the protesters had a pre-planned opportunity to break the main gate of the Assistant High Commission and enter inside. At that time, in the presence of local law enforcement officers, they broke the Bangladesh national flag pole, disrespected the flag and vandalized the internal property of the premises,” the release said.
“Unfortunately, the local police members present to provide security to the High Commission were not seen taking active steps to control the situation from the beginning.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the officers and employees of the Assistant High Commission are suffering from deep insecurity as a result of this incident.
Earlier, on November 28, a protest march by a Hindutva organization called ‘Bangiya Hindu Jagran Mancha’ in front of the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata, where the Bangladesh national flag was desecrated and an effigy of Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus was burned.
Referring to the incident, the statement said, “The Bangladesh government wishes to make it clear that this heinous attack on a diplomatic mission of Bangladesh and the disrespect of the national flag of Bangladesh are part of a continuous pattern. This incident is a direct violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.”
“The Bangladesh government has called on the Indian government to deal with this incident seriously, conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and take effective steps to prevent such violence against the diplomatic mission of Bangladesh in India in the future. It has also been requested to take measures to ensure the safety of diplomatic and non-diplomatic staff and their families.”
India’s apology, assurance of security: The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has expressed regret over the attack on the Bangladesh High Commission. In a statement on Monday, it was said that the attack on the Bangladesh High Commission in Agartala, India, is regrettable. Diplomatic and consular property should not be targeted under any circumstances. The government is taking steps to strengthen the security of the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and the Assistant High Commission in various parts of India.
BJP protests in Petrapole port area: The Bangaon Sub-division BJP has held a protest march demanding the unconditional release of expelled ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, an end to the desecration of the Indian flag in Bangladesh and an end to the alleged persecution of minorities. Speaking as the chief guest, West Bengal State BJP President Shuvendu Adhikari said that if Chinmoy Krishna Das is not released within the next 7 days and the persecution of minorities is not completely stopped, import and export will be stopped for 5 days at the end of the week. From 2025, all imports and exports, including potatoes, onions and eggs, will be stopped in Bangladesh. At this time, he announced that all types of imports and exports will be stopped from 6 pm to 6 am.
At a public meeting held at Petrapole bus stand in India on Monday, Bangaon Subdistrict BJP President Devdas Mandal presided over the meeting, and Gaighata MLA Subrata Thakur, Bangaon South MLA Swapan Majumdar, North MLA Ashok Kirtania, Kalyani Ambika Das, among others, spoke. 7-8 thousand BJP workers from various areas including Habra, Barasat, Nadia, Kalyani attended the meeting.
Protest in front of Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Mumbai: Hundreds of protesters from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad protested in front of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Mumbai on Monday afternoon. During this, the protesters took a position about one to one and a half hundred yards from the Bangladesh Mission with banners and placards. They raised various slogans protesting against the alleged persecution of minorities in Bangladesh and action against ISKCON members.
Protest of the anti-discrimination student movement: A DU representative said that at 9:30 pm, they circled various places of Dhaka University (DU) and gathered at the foot of the Raju statue. At 10 pm, a group of students from Jagannath Hall joined the protest rally by taking out a procession against Indian aggression. During this, the students raised slogans such as ‘Why the attack on the embassy, Delhi you answer’, ‘Break the black hand of RSS, crush it’, ‘Break the black hand of BJP, crush it’, ‘Black hand of extremism, crush it’. At the rally, Mahin Sarkar, coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said, “I swear by the blood of all martyrs, if India or any stronger country raises its hand against our sovereignty, we will stand firm.” He said, “We are all Bangladeshis. We will never allow Indian hegemony to spread in this country like it did in the past by playing the minority card. Abu Sayeed taught us how to protect our sovereignty.” Also speaking were Arif Sohel, member secretary of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, university students Ashrefah Khatun, Tahmid Al Mudassir Chowdhury, Tariqul Islam and Jagannath Hall student Joy Pal.
Student rights protest in DU: Students protested on various important roads of the campus starting from Madhur Canteen of Dhaka University (DU) at 8 pm on Monday. After the protest, they held a short rally at the foot of the Raju sculpture. The march was titled ‘Why attack the embassy?’ Students were seen chanting slogans like ‘Modi, answer me, Delhi, answer me’, ‘People stop Delhi’s aggression; People stop Modi’s aggression’ etc. Students’ Rights Council President Bin Yamin Mollah and others addressed the rally.
Protest by Indians at Bilonia border: Feni correspondent said that there was an anti-Bangladesh protest at the Indian part of the Bilonia land port in Parshuram on the border. Some Indian citizens protested on Sunday afternoon under the banner of traditional Hindu society. A video of the protest at the Bilonia border also went viral on social media around 12 midnight on Sunday. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) protested to the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in this regard on Monday. BGB-4 Feni Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain confirmed the matter.
