Bangladesh plans speedy trials in temple violence case

In a bid to cool down communal tension trigerred by the

Cumilla

temple violence that rocked

Bangladesh

during the recent Durga Puja celebrations and caused much heartache in India, the govenment has said that it plans to expedite trials of all accused in the case. Bangladesh law minister has been quoted in media reports as saying, “There are provisions in the speedy trial tribunals to accept CCTV footage as evidence.” The cases, he said, would be sent to trial as soon as police investigations are concluded

On October 21, Bangladesh police identified a Cumilla resident Iqbal Hossain as the culprit of the incident that sparked off the riots. According to reports, Hossain was arrested by the authorities in

Cox’s Bazar

where he had fled. While there have been political protests in India, the Modi government has maintained a studied silence, reposing faith in the Sheikh Hasina government publicly.

PM Sheikh Hasina

said at an event on Sunday, “Certain quarters with vested interests are disseminating propaganda aimed at creating a communal divide.” She, however, did not name any one. “No matter how much good work we do, there is a quarter that is occupied with discrediting Bangladesthey want? They don’t want the normal democratic process to continue in this country,” she said, urging people to be wary of the attempts to destabilise the country.

Meanwhile, Hasina reached out to Modi to congratulate India on crossing the 100-crore vaccine milestone. In her letter, she said, Bangladesh had also administered around 60 million vaccines. Thanking India for resuming vaccine exports to Bangladesh, she hoped this would remain uninterrupted. India had stopped exports when the deadly second wave hit in April-May this year.