Attack on Buddhists: Bangladesh govt raises alarm

Merunglua (

), Oct 2: Bangladesh authorities raised an alarm and asked security officials to stay vigilant around official camps of Rohingya Muslims in the wake of attacks on minority

and their places of worship in the area. Around 28,000 Rohingyas, who fled Myanmar, reside in two official camps in Cox's Bazar district in southern Bangladesh. Several others remain scattered in the region.

Though authorities said there was no clear evidence that the Rohingya Muslims were involved in the attacks on the Buddists, but they suspected possible links to the violence that occurred on Saturday and Sunday. One of the country's main newspaper reported that the intelligence did not rule out hands of radical Rohingya Muslims in the attacks.

The Bangladeshi government was blaming Islamic radicals and activists in the opposition for the violence. The Bangladeshi home minister, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, said primary investigations showed that organised radical Islam groups attacked the houses and places of workship. He accused the opposition, Bangladesh National Party (BNP) legislator Lutfar Rahman Kajal of instigating the attack. The latter, however, refuted the charges.

BNP leader Khaleda Zia said the government failed to protect minority Buddhists in the country and was worried that the government might use it as an excuse to target the opposition.

Nearly 1,000 Buddhists fled their villagers after rioters burned at least 10 Buddhist temples and 40 houses and looted shops to protest a Facebook photo of a burned Quran. The Facebook user reportedly said that someone else had mistakenly tagged the photo to his profile. Authorities said 170 people were arrested on the charges of vandalism and an investigation has been arrested.

OneIndia News