Multidisciplinary artists hold placards during a protest against the violent attacks in Dhaka. Photo: AFP
DHAKA:
Bangladesh on Tuesday recalled its top Indian envoy as fresh protests erupted outside its high commission in New Delhi over the lynching of a Hindu worker in Dhaka.
The garment worker was charged with blasphemy and lynched on December 18 as anti-India sentiment rises in the neighboring Muslim nation. Seven suspects were arrested for the murder.
On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters gathered near the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi waving saffron flags and banners, including one that read: “Stop killing Hindus in Bangladesh.”
“Hindus are warning Bangladesh that it is taking the wrong approach,” said Puneet Gautam, 37, a protester and member of the right-wing Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
VHP members and security personnel clashed outside the Dhaka outpost as the crowd pushed through yellow metal barricades about 300 meters from the building.
Earlier on Tuesday, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry had summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranai Verma to express “serious concern” over earlier protests outside its visa centres.
In its statement, the ministry cited “unfortunate incidents” and vandalism outside visa centers in New Delhi and Siliguri last week. India dismissed reports of vandalism as “misleading propaganda”.
Ties between the neighbors have soured since ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled a pro-democracy uprising last year and sought refuge in India.
India says it is still considering Dhaka’s extradition requests for Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia for orchestrating a deadly crackdown on the insurgency.
Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s rule, with violence marring the campaign ahead of elections next year.
This month, aspiring parliamentarian and vocal critic of India Sharif Osman Hadi was gunned down by masked assailants in Dhaka, with unconfirmed reports suggesting his assailants may have fled to India.
The killing sparked protests in Dhaka with arsonists torching several buildings, including two major newspapers seen as pro-India as well as a prominent cultural institution.
Militants also pelted stones at the Indian High Commission in the port city of Chattogram, where India has since suspended visa services.
On Monday, Dhaka temporarily suspended visa services in Delhi.
Russia urged Delhi and Dhaka to mend fences.
“The sooner this happens, the better,” the Russian ambassador to Bangladesh, Alexander G. Khozin, was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.
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