WEB DESK
More than 10 Hindu houses were vandalized and torched in Comilla after a man reportedly showed support for France defending cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) on Facebook.
The incident took place at the Korbanpur village under Muradnagar upazila of Comilla on Sunday afternoon, creating panic among the community.
The office of the local Union Parishad Chairman Bankumar Shiv and the house of accused, Shankar Debnath, were set on fire. More than 10 Hindu households were attacked, vandalized, and torched. The fire service had to be called to douse the fire.
Bangra police station immediately rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control.
Later, Comilla’s Deputy Commissioner Abul Fazal Mir, Superintendent of Police Syed Nurul Islam, and other officials of the administration visited the scene.
Arson has been reported from Comilla district of Bangladesh over an alleged facebook post on the controversy surrounding the publication of the cartoon of prophet Mohammed in France.
The persons who allegedly posted the controversial comments on Facebook have been arrested by the police after a case was lodged against them under the Digital Security Act (DSA) of Bangladesh. The local police said that the process to file a case over the attack is also underway.
Senior police officials rushed to the place of incident to bring the situation under control. Police have deployed additional force in the area to maintain law and order. The local administration said that the situation is under control.
According to locals, Shankar Debnath, a local of the village, on Saturday, reportedly commented on a Facebook post related to France defending cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) and showed his support.
A case was filed over the incident. Following, on Sunday, police arrested Shankar and Anik Bhowmik, another accused in the case, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments and sent them to jail.