‘Minorities were attacked in 27 districts from Oct 13 to Nov 1’

Minorities were attacked in 27 districts during the communal violence between October 13 and November 1, according to Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Oikya Parishad.

At least 117 temples or mandaps were vandalised while 301 homes and business establishments were damaged during the period.

Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of the parishad, shared the information at a press conference at Jatiya Press Club today, days after visiting the affected districts.

Nine people were killed in the violence, of which, four were shot dead, he said.

The platform rejected the Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen's recent statement on the communal violence and announced a protest procession -- Dhikkar Michil -- across the country on November 12.

The foreign minister recently stated that some "enthusiastic" media outlets and individuals were spreading cooked-up stories about the deaths and rapes of members of religious minorities.

"No one was raped and not a single mandir was torched or destroyed. However, a couple of [idols of] deities or Goddesses were vandalised," he said in a message.

The minister said six people died during the recent religious violence including four Muslims. "Two Hindus died -- one was normal death while the other died by drowning."