Tripura: Right-wing Mobs vandalise Mosques in Response to the Attack on Minority Hindus in Bangladesh

Right-wing mobs have reportedly vandalised as many as six mosques in Tripura, claiming it to be retaliation for the anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh.

According to a report in Maktoob Media, over a dozen of houses and shops belonging to Muslims were vandalised by Hindutva groups like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)and Bajrang Dal across Tripura, during protests.

Some photos and videos on social media show how the right-wing mobs have been raising anti-Muslim slogans during protests, forcing Muslim families to flee.

Mosques and houses of Muslims attacked by people associated to RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal across Tripura during Hindutva groups' protest against Bangladesh violence. A mosque burnt in Udaipur by right-wing groups.

Watch: pic.twitter.com/a4RjatjbGz

— Maktoob (@MaktoobMedia) October 21, 2021

Fifteen cops have reportedly been injured and section 144 has also been imposed in several parts of the state to control the situation. Safiqur Rahman, an activist associated with Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) told Maktoob Media that a mosque was burnt in Maharani region in Gomathi district’s Udaipur on October 19.

Mosques in Krishnagar, Dharmanagar, Panisagar, Chandrapur have also been attacked and desecrated. Rahman also told the publication that a Mosque in Panisagar in North Tripura district was burnt by the Hindutva mob early on October 22. Abdul Basit Khan, a lawyer by profession, also had his house ransacked by the mob in Dharmanagar in North Tripura.

Image courtesy: Maktoob Media

The Hindu groups have also placed saffron flags in front of one Abdul Mannan’s house. The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance’s chief, Pradyot Manikya, tweeted, “Any motivated acts in our state where minorities are attacked as a retaliation to what has happened in Bangladesh must be condemned! Please remember two wrongs don’t make a right .... I appeal for peace amongst all religions in our state.”

Any motivated acts in our state where minorities are attacked as a retaliation to what has happened in bangladesh must be condemned ! Please remember Two wrongs don’t make a right .... I appeal for peace amongst all religions in our state .

— Pradyot_Tripura (@PradyotManikya) October 21, 2021

After the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, tomorrow Saturday, October 23, a mass strike and protest rally has been called for, in districts and sub-districts across the country, by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Parishad to “condemn, protest and condemn communal attacks and want the overall security of religious-ethnic minority population.”

Citizens of the country are also taking to the streets demanding safety of Bangladeshi Hindus, and taking their campaign online with hashtags like SaveBangladeshiHindus.

Over the past few days, incidents of vandalism were reported from Hindu temples in Chandpur’s Hajiganj, Chattogram’s Banshkhali and Cox’s Bazar’s Pekua, in Bangladesh. This happened during Durga Puja, a festival close to Bengalis across the globe that makes it even more disturbing.