Hindu man arrested, family under house arrest for “blasphemous” post in Bhola, Banglades
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HINDU POST, By Katyayani
October 13, 2021
On September 16, Gouranga Chandra Dey was arrested in the Bhola district of Bangladesh. The allegation against Dey, a man belonging to the religious minority in the Islamic country, is that he had made objectionable posts against Islam on the social
media platform, Facebook (FB). He is also the President of the Bhola District Puja Udjapan Parishad and is a politically active man hailing from the Hindu community in the area.
The controversy began after screengrabs of a Messenger conversation from
September 15, (allegedly) between the accused and another man Jayaram,
went viral on the social networking site. The screenshots, reportedly,
showed the derogatory remarks being made against Islam. Soon after the
screenshots went viral, Gouranga reached his local police station and
lodged a formal complaint.
Despite the pre-emptive measure taken by him, Dey was detained on
September 16. This arrest was made under Section 54 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and without an arrest warrant. A contingent of
the police force had been deployed in the area to keep the law and order
situation in check.
The harassment of the hapless minority did not stop with the arrest of Dey
without a warrant; instead, his family was put under house arrest for two
weeks as well.
Gouranga’s wife Rina Rani Dey has denied any misconduct or offenses on
his part. “It is better not to exist than to exist like this. He (Gouranga) has
not done such acts. This is a life of hardships. My daughter is unwell, and
this is what is being done to my husband.” Rina Rani Dey has also not been
able to step out of the house despite her daughter’s medical conditions.
Gouranga also owns two shops that have been shut since his arrest. His
younger brother Rajkumar Dey, who also helped him in running the shops,
narrated that the family has been living under terror in Bangladesh. “We are
terrified and can’t even think of stepping out even to the street in front of
our house, cannot gather the courage to open our shops even.”
A Hindu woman from the Bhola district informed that the case of alleged
blasphemy on Gouranga Dey has provoked attacks on Hindus and
vandalism ahead of Durga Puja.
Image Source: BBC
Fundamentalist Islamist groups like Bhola District Muslim Unity Council
have demanded that Dey should be subjected to ‘exemplary penalties’ for
his alleged insult towards Islam. The air in Bhola had grown communally charged after Islamist groups
launched parades and rallies demanding severe actions against any offense made towards their religion. An attendant of a local Hindu
temple appeared distressed over the protest marches held by the majority Muslim community. “We are a minority”, he grieved.
Secretary of Bhola District Muslim Unity Council, Mobashbirul Haque Naeem, alleged that this was the third incident of blasphemy that has occurred in the last two years. “Anything said against our religion will not be tolerated. We will protest against such
acts. We are demanding action under the law.” On the other hand, Hindu groups have called this case a deliberate conspiracy against
Gouranga Chandra Dey, claiming that the politically active member of the minority community was wrongfully
charged. It was found during initial investigations that the account used to the inflammatory post created only a few days
before the incident. The account has not been active since September 15.
Image Source:
www.newagebd.net
The Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad on September 27, took out a rally
demanding the immediate release of Gouranga Chandra Dey. President
Milon Kanti Dey declared that the Hindu community in Bhola will not
celebrate Durga Puja if Gouranga is not released. A member of the
Parishad, Nirmal Chatterjee asserted that Dey was trapped in a fabricated
case. The General Secretary of Sri Sri Durga Mata Mandir, Nepal Chandra
Dey also echoed Nirmal Chatterjee’s claims and said that Gouranga was
being targeted under a conspiracy due to his political activities.
Given the incendiary nature of this case, the law enforcement authorities
are also under pressure to expedite the investigation, which, unfortunately,
could be delayed due to technical limitations, informed Sarkar Mohammad
Kaiser, Superintendent of Police, Bhola. He also added that they have not
been able to trace the link of the Facebook profile attributed to Gouranga
Chandra Dey, which led to the entire mayhem.
(Feature Image Source: BBC)