Security breach at B’desh Mission: Protest continuous, 7 arrested, 3 cops suspended, BD Mission suspends service
After strict action against protestors by Tripura government, the Bangladesh's Assistant High Commission in Agartala has decided to suspend consular service until further notice after its premises was breached by a group of people who were protesting against the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das and atrocities on minorities in neighbouring Bangladesh.
In a notice signed by First Secretary and Head of Chancery Md Al Amin, the assistant high commission announced that the suspension will come into immediate effect citing “Given the security situation, all visa and consular services at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission, Agartala will remain suspended until further notice.”
After Monday’s protest and breach of security inside the AHC in Agartala, the state government acted swiftly following the incident and seven people have been arrested so far.
While, amidst continuous protest in different parts of Tripura against atrocities on minority Hindus in Bangladesh, police on Tuesday that a case was registered with New Capital Complex (NCC) police station and arrested individuals were identified as Jhutan Das of Border Golchakkar, Ujjwal Das of Dashamighat, Diptanil Bhowmik of Abhoynagar, Surja Das of Amtali area in the outskirts of Agartala city, Jhulan Malakar of Belonia in South Tripura, Pradip Saha of 79 Tilla area in Agartala and Alak Majumder of SDO Chowmuhani in West Tripura.
The Tripura government suspended three police officers, withdrew an Assistant Commandant rank officer and detained seven persons over the breach of security at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission (AHC) office in Agartala during the protests against the atrocities on Hindus in the neighbouring country on Monday.
A top police official said the state government has also ordered an inquiry into Monday's incident and the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Southern Range, would conduct the probe. Three Sub-Inspector of police -- Dilu Jamatia, Debabrata Sinha, and Joynal Hossain -- were suspended while Assistant Commandant (a DSP rank officer) Kanti Nath Ghosh was withdrawn from his posting by the West Tripura District Superintendent of police Kiran Kumar K and the action was taken against the negligence of duty of the four police officials.
During the protest, over 50 agitators allegedly entered the premises of the Bangladeshi mission in Agartala, leading to panic among the officials and staff at the complex.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has condemned the breach at the Bangladesh mission's premises in Agartala and called it "deeply regrettable".
Ties between India and Bangladesh came under strain after the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus came to power following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma to the Foreign Affairs Ministry office in Dhaka, a day after Dhaka lodged a strong protest against the alleged vandalism of its mission in Tripura.
“He (Verma) came as he was asked to come when we conveyed him our concerns,” a Foreign Ministry official briefly said.
Foreign Affairs Adviser Mohammad Touhid Hossain earlier said the Indian envoy was asked to come to the foreign office after the Agartala incident.
Verma, on the other hand, said Delhi wants to build a “constant stable, constructive relationship” with Bangladesh saying no single issue should stand as a barrier for bilateral ties.
“We are willing to engage with the interim government of Bangladesh,” he told reporters emerging from the meeting with acting foreign secretary Riaz Hamidullah.
The envoy described the relationship as “multifaceted and wide-ranging,” which could not sit with one issue or agenda and India is interested to work with the Bangladesh government to fulfill the two countries' shared aspiration for peace, security and development.
Verma also said there are many interdependencies and Delhi is keen to build on that for mutual benefits.
The tension between the two neighbours simmering since August 5, when deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India, aggravated further with the arrest of the Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das last week.
Bangladesh’s interim govt adviser also accuses India of failure over Agartala incident and terming the vandalism at Bangladesh's diplomatic mission in Agartala as India's “failure,” an influential adviser in the interim government on Tuesday asked New Delhi to reassess its neighbour afresh after the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina regime.
“We believe in a friendship based on equality and mutual respect. While Sheikh Hasina's government followed a pro-India policy to cling to power without elections, India must realise that this is not Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh,” Law Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul wrote in a Facebook post.
Nazrul alleged an outfit named Hindu Sangharsh Samiti was responsible for what he described as “the disgraceful act” when Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala was vandalised, and “Bangladesh’s national flag was set on fire.”
“If a similar incident had occurred in Bangladesh under the name of a 'Muslim Sangharsh Samiti', how aggressively would India have reacted?”
Protests were held in Kolkata and other regions of India over the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh.