Bangladesh violence: Mob sets musician Rahul Ananda's house ablaze in relentless attack on Hindu minorities

The mob attacked, looted and torched Rahul's house on Monday afternoon.

Reports claim Rahul, his wife and their son could manage to escape from the attack unharmed.

Among the items that the mob looted were about 3,000 musical instruments which were present in the house.

"As soon as they broke down the gate, they started ravaging the house, taking whatever they could find for themselves. They took everything - from furniture and mirrors to valuables. After that, they torched the whole house along with Rahul da's musical instruments," Rahul's close family source told The Daily Star.

Rahul leads a popular folk band Joler Gaan in Dhaka.

The singer's 140-year-old house, which he reportedly rented, was one of the stops of French President Emmanuel Macron during his Dhaka visit in 2023.

Later on Monday, the Dhanuka Manasa Bari temple in Shariatpur was attacked by a violent mob.

The mob destroyed the idols of Radha-Krishna and razed the temple to the ground, The Daily Star reported.

"After attacking the temple, they surrounded our homes and were going to attack us. The army intervened and saved us," Gobindo Chakrabarty, the temple committee's general secretary said.

While India is keeping an eye on illegal migration, there is also concern about the condition of the Indians living in Bangladesh and the minorities of the Muslim-majority nation.

In a statement to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said there are around 19,000 Indian nationals living in Bangladesh, around 9,000 of whom are students. The bulk of students have already returned to India in the month of July on the advice of the High Commission.

The ministry, he said, has been in "close and continuous touch with the Indian community in Bangladesh through our diplomatic missions".

Muhammad Yunus appointed interim government chief

Nobel Laureate and Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus has been appointed as the chief adviser of the interim government, days after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power amid violent anti-government protests which left the nation paralysed.

The decision came after a meeting on the formation of the interim government between key organisers of the anti-discriminatory movement and President Mohammed Shahabuddin, The Daily Star reported.

The meeting was attended by the head of the armed forces.

The political situation of the country became uncertain and a leadership vacuum was created after Hasina resigned and fled to India amid severe anti-government protests in the nation which initially began with students demonstrating across the nation against job quota.

Sheikh Hasina's longtime political rival and BNP chief Khaleda Zia was released from prison on Tuesday.

Following her release, Zia expressed concern over nationwide violence, vandalism and looting of state resources during the demonstrations which have been taking place for weeks.