Bangladesh on Sunday dismissed India’s concerns regarding the safety of Hindu minorities, describing recent incidents involving members of the community as “isolated criminal acts” rather than examples of systemic persecution.
"With much regret, we note that there are systematic attempts to portray the isolated incidents of criminal acts as systematic persecution of the Hindus," the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Highlighting one case cited by India, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the individual involved was a listed criminal who died during an extortion attempt along with a Muslim accomplice, adding that presenting the incident as one targeting a minority is misleading.
“We note that there are systematic attempts to portray the isolated incidents of criminal acts as systemic persecution of the Hindus and maliciously used to propagate anti-Bangladesh sentiments in different parts of India. We observe a selective and unfair bias in certain quarters, where isolated incidents are amplified, misrepresented and propagated to incite common Indians against Bangladesh, its diplomatic missions and other establishments in India," the press statement added.
The remarks came two days after India expressed concern over what it called “unremitting hostility” towards minorities in Bangladesh. In a press briefing, MEA Spokeperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday denounced the recent killing of Hindu youth and called on the Bangladeshi authorities to ensure accountability and justice.
"The unremitting hostility against minorities in Bangladesh is a matter of great concern. We condemn the recent killing of a Hindu youth in Bangladesh and expect that the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice," Jaiswal said.
In the past two weeks, two Hindus of Indian origin were reportedly killed in separate mob attacks in Bangladesh. On December 18, Deepu Chandra Das was beaten and set ablaze over alleged blasphemy, while on December 24, another victim, Amrit Mandal, was lynched following accusations linked to extortion.
