A mob surrounded senior Bangladeshi journalist Munni Saha in Dhaka last night and accused her of spreading misinformation and “doing everything to make Bangladesh a part of India”. Ms Saha was surrounded and kept saying, “This is also my country”. Eventually a police team came and took him into custody.
According to Bangladesh media reports, Ms Saha was wanted in a case related to the death of a student during anti-reservation protests in the neighboring country, which led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Police said Ms Saha was rescued from Dhaka’s Kawaran Bazaar area, where a mob had surrounded her.
Rezaul Karim Mallik, a senior official of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star Newspaper, “People handed him over to the police. He suffered a panic attack. We handed him over after considering his health condition and the fact that he was a She is a woman, she has been released.” Journalist.” Ms Saha has been asked to seek bail from the court and obey police summons in future.
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In a video that has now gone viral, Ms Saha is seen surrounded by a crowd. A voice is heard accusing him of misleading the people regarding the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles insurgency in which 57 people lost their lives. The journalist shook his head in denial and said, “You are making every possible effort to make this country a part of India. The blood of the students is on your hands.”
“How can you, being a citizen of this country, harm this country,” she was told. Ms Saha replied, “How have I caused harm? This is also my country.”
The 55-year-old journalist is the former news head of Bengali channel ATN News. After the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina administration, he and several other journalists were accused of crimes against humanity.
The attack on Ms Saha comes amid concerns over the situation of minority Hindus in Bangladesh following the change of power. Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a Hindu priest, was arrested in Dhaka last week following protests by the Hindu community demanding legal protection and a minority affairs ministry. The Hindu priest, previously associated with ISKCON, is reportedly facing a sedition case for his comments targeting Hindus.
ISKCON has now said that two more monks, Adipurush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das Brahmachari, have been arrested after meeting Chinmoy Krishna Das. Vice President of ISKCON Kolkata also said that rioters in Bangladesh have vandalized the ISKCON center.
Following Hasina’s ouster, an interim government led by Grameen Bank founder and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge. In the last few months, there have been several reports of minority Hindus being targeted in Bangladesh.
Following Pujari’s arrest, India expressed concern over “increasing incidents of extremist rhetoric, violence and incitement” in Bangladesh.
The External Affairs Ministry said India has consistently raised the issue of targeted attacks on Hindus and other minorities with the Bangladesh government. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has urged the interim government of Bangladesh to take steps for the protection of minorities.