Site of Hindu Festival Attacked: Icons destroyed – An Attempt to Usurp the Temple Property?

Picture (Courtesy The Daily Janakantha): Desecrated and destroyed Durga Idol at Fatullah, Bangladesh.

Translated from the Daily Janakantha dated 9th October, 2002.

Narayangunj, 7 October. Last Monday, in the Pagla area of the Phatulla Police Station, militants attacked the site of the forthcoming Hindu festival Durga Puja, and damaged the icons being readied for the occasion. The incident has caused quite a stir in the locality, and a shock among the Hindus. According to the police, the attack took place between midnight and four o’clock in the morning. However, not one of the militants has been apprehended yet.

The report says that in the Laxmi Narayan temple at Pagla, artists had been working on the icons for the last twenty days, and were at the final stage of decorating them. They had left the site at around 11 Sunday night. Local people said that early Monday morning they found the icons broken. This caused instantaneous grief and frustration among the believers. Many were literally overcome with emotions while tears were rolling down their cheeks. The militants had cut the fences erected to guard the site. Mr. Tapan Kumar, the General Secretary of the temple, says that there have been ongoing attempts to grab the temple property. Last October, there was a verdict from the higher court in favor of the temple, which was immediately followed by physical threats by the miscreants to the associates of the temple. The General Secretary has lodged a general complaint at the court without having been able to name the miscreants. The local MP has inspected the affected place and has promised some money for rebuilding the icons. He has also promised action against the miscreants. In the meantime, the police have apprehended two Moslems in connection with the tragic incident. In a journalists’ meet, Shankar Saha and Nirmal Kumar Das, Chair and Secretary of the organization holding the meeting, expressed their hope that with cooperation of all faiths, the greatest Hindu festival of Bangladesh would be celebrated in peace and joy.