Bangladesh suspends visa services in Agartala mission over security reasons

The Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Tripura's capital Agartala on Tuesday announced the suspension of all visa and consular services with immediate effect until further notice because of "security reasons", a day after the mission's premises was breached by a group of people protesting against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Dhaka. 

 

Amid escalating tensions between the two countries, Dhaka summoned the Indian envoy posted there to protest against the alleged vandalism of its mission in Tripura.

Also on Tuesday, police registered a suo motu case and arrested seven people for their alleged involvement in the incident at the Bangladesh mission. Action was also taken against four policemen for dereliction of duty, West Tripura district SP Kiran Kumar K said.

"Given the security situation, all visa and consular services at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission, Agartala, will remain suspended until further notice. This comes into effect immediately," Md Al-Ameen, the first secretary to the Bangladesh mission, said.

Condemning the incident, Chief Minister Manik Saha said, "during the protest rally, a group of youth tried to barge into the Assistant High Commission office of Bangladesh in Agartala. I condemned the incident. Peaceful protest can be allowed but such behaviour is not acceptable."  In a related development, the All Tripura Hotel & Restaurant Owners' Association (ATHROA) said its members would not serve Bangladeshi guests given the insult to the Indian flag there.

ATHROA general secretary Saikat Bandyopadhyay said the decision was taken at an emergency meeting held on Monday.

"We are a secular country and have respect for all religions. Our national flag has been desecrated and minorities are facing oppression by a section of fundamentalists in Bangladesh. Earlier too such incidents used to take place but now it has crossed the limit," he said.

Meanwhile, protests continued in several northeastern states, including Assam.

Thousands of people gathered in Agartala under the banner of 'Sanatani Yuva' and staged a rally demanding the immediate release of Das. They also protested against the oppression of minorities in that country.

The protesters were, however, not allowed to move towards the Akhaura Integrated Check Post (ICP) on the international border as the police denied them permission to hold the March to Bangladesh' programme.

In Kolkata, leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said human rights have been violated in Bangladesh as lawyers of arrested Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das could not appear in a court as they were allegedly beaten up by fundamentalists.

A Bangladesh court on Tuesday deferred to January 2 next year hearing on the bail petition of Das on a government plea as no lawyer appeared on his behalf.

Das, a spokesperson for the Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25 for alleged sedition. He was denied bail and sent to jail by a Chattogram court on November 26, triggering protests by his supporters.

ISKCON Kolkata appealed to the Bangladesh government to ensure the safety of lawyers willing to represent the Hindu monk in an ongoing case, following a brutal attack on his advocate.

ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson Radharamn Das on Monday claimed that Ramen Roy, who was defending Chinmoy Krishna Das, was attacked by a group of Islamists at his home in Bangladesh.

"It is really frustrating to see that there was no defence lawyer. Is this justice? Is this how you provide free and fair justice? We would urge the Bangladesh government to look into the matter," Das said. "The day when Chinmay Krishna Prabhu was first arrested and produced in court one of his lawyers was Regan Acharya. After the hearing his chamber was vandalised and he was attacked brutally...How can any lawyer appear for #ChinmoyKrishnaDas when they are being targeted? As per report & video received from Bangladesh #SaveBangladeshiHindus," he posted on X.

In Siliguri, posters of Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh's chief adviser, surfaced on social media in West Bengal with derogatory words written next to his image.

The posters were reportedly spotted near the Siliguri Municipal Corporation building and other parts of the busy town in North Bengal. The images quickly went viral, though PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the social media posts.

A district official said an inquiry has been started to determine the origins of the posters. "We are looking into whether such posters with objectionable messages against another country have been displayed. If we find anything, the administration will take appropriate action to remove them," the official said.

In Guwahati, the Congress women's wing alleged that the "wrong" foreign policy of the Centre has made it "ineffective" in pursuing the authorities of Bangladesh in providing security to Hindus there. During the day, the Congress and several organisations held protests across Assam against atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh, demanding the security of people belonging to the religious minority there.

In Silchar, the Indian Forum for Bangladesh Peace held a demonstration, demanding the restoration of peace in the neighbouring country and an end to the atrocities on Hindus there.