Prelude

Hajari Goli (Lane) of Chattagram is a narrow lane with only 2 entry and exit points. Hindus form over 90% of the population in this region. Hajari Goli is a business hub with more than 1000 gold processing, jewellery and medicine shops. Local businessmen and market owners like Setu Dhar and senior employees working in local factories like Badol’s Gold Factory and Jewel Dhar’s Gold Factory say that Hajari Goli has an average daily trade of over 300 crore Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) by conservative estimates.

Owners and workers of several jewellery stores like Hazari Gold Fashion and Royal Gold also confirm the daily average transaction value mentioned above.  The neighbouring localities of Teribajaar and Biponi Bitan are also dominated by Hindus.

Figure 1 : Hajari Goli and its neighbouring regions

The two entry and exit points of Hajari Goli have robust gates which could be locked in case of emergency. Several local residents like Emon De and local social workers like Moumi say that there were co-ordinated attacks by a mob of 30-40 Islamists on Hajari Goli after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina Government. The local Hindus had expected attacks and were able to repel the rioters who were armed with various types of bladed weapons, wickets and sticks. The two gates were kept locked during non-business hours and arrangements were made by local market complex owners to promptly lock the gates after the attacks on 05.08.2024.

The Facebook Post by Osman Ali and the co-ordinated campaign against ISKCON

Over 95% of the shops, factories and businesses in Hajari Goli are owned by Hindus. Local businessmen confirm that at least 90% of the people employed there are Hindus. Osman Ali, a member of the radical Ismist group Jamat-e-islami and the owner of a shop named “Molla Stores” had made a derogatory facebook post against ISKCON and Sanatana Dharma, terming the monks of ISKCON as “Hindu Terrorists” and “agents of India” [1]

The monks of ISKCON like Shree Chinmay Prabhu are playing a pivotal role in encouraging and promoting the “8-point demands” raised by the persecuted minority Hindu population of Bangladesh. The major demands were to

1. Create a minority commission for ensuring the welfare of the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and other minority communities.
2. Provide 5-days holiday during Durga Puja, the biggest festival of indigenous Hindus.
3. Digitalise the Pali and Sanskrit education boards.
4. Allocate prayer rooms in the halls and hostels of educational institutes and dormitories just like the muslims have. [2]

Shree Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari, the General Secretary of ISKCON Bangladesh and Palash Kanti Dey, the head of a prominent Hindu organisation operating in Chattagram say that the “8-point-demands” have nothing to do with politics. They say that these demands are being raised for ensuring the basic human rights and dignity of life only.

Radical islamist organisations like Hefazat-e-Islam, Jamat-e-islami and cadres of the banned fundamentalist group Hizb ut-Tahrir are campaigning for banning ISKCON in Bangladesh. Using fake news circulated across social media like Facebook books falsely depicting devotees of ISKCON desecrating the Bangladesh National Flag [3], they are terming the devotees and monks of ISKCON as “ R&AW Agents” (Intelligence Agency of Bharat). Senior journalists like Mahmudur Rahman, the editor of “Amar Desh”, had termed ISKCON as a “terrorist organisation”. Shree Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari had issued a written statement on 03/11/2024, denouncing all such claims as “ controversial and baseless”.

He demanded that Mahmudur Rehman apologise to the people of Bangladesh within the next 7 days, hinting at taking strict measures, including possible legal action against the journalist if he fails to apologise within 7 days [3]. A case of sedition was filed by B.N.P. party worker Mohammad Firoz Khan against Shree Chinmay Prabhu and 18 other Hindus on 30.10.2024 [4]. The B.N.P. party has expelled him for filing this case without party approval [5]. Advocate and General Secretary of Bangladesh Sanatan Party Sumon Kumar Roy says that under the existing legal framework, a case of sedition can only be filed with the approval of the ruling Government.

Residents of Chattagram, leaders of local Hindu Organisations and social workers like Nilay Mallick and Avro Neel say that ISKCON is being targeted by radical islamists because :

1. The Chattagram unit of ISKCON under Shree Chinmay Prabhu was very effective in propagating Hindu Dharma.
2. ISKCON and other Hindu organisations have managed to reduce the rate of conversions to Islam by at least 500% since 2017. The online campaign  launched by ISKCON for debunking the fake narratives of Maulanas and spreading awareness about Dharma among the Hindu youth was extremely successful.
3. The monks of ISKCON have been travelling to the remote locations of Bangladesh, helping poor families irrespective of religion. Radical Islamists allege that this aid and awareness is helping the financially challenged and isolated Hindu families to resist conversion through incentives and “ womb-jihad”.

Protests by Hindus at Hajari Goli and the temporary breakdown of

law & order on 05.11.2024

10-12 local Hindus had confronted Osman Ali in front of his shop at around 3.30 in the afternoon, demanding a public apology for his Facebook post. There was a long argument involving a lot of shouting and word began to spread about his Facebook Post. Setu Dhar claims that around 70 people had gathered around Molla Store by 4.30 p.m. and they began protesting with slogans demanding justice for Hindus and respect for Hindu saints and monks by 5’o clock.

Local residents like UttamKumar and Ratan claim that the local people had not yet been able to get over the attempted mob lynching of a 22-year old Hindu boy Patha Biswas Pintu from nearby Patiya on 30.09.2024 [6]. Many activists like Avro Neel claim that he was framed and his facebook account was hacked [7]. Many of the protestors were also recalling the assault on Utshob Mondol and the attack on the house of a Hindu college student Sohag Biswas of Dhauradanga village on 29.09.2024 [8]. Utshob was manipulated on social media and the allegations of blasphemy against Sohag lack any concrete evidence.

Majority of the local eyewitnesses interviewed for the purpose of this report say that the assembled Hindus had demanded a written apology from Osman Ali. His brother Musa Molla had posted a vulgar comment on social media about Devi Durga and her puja in 2021. He was forced to issue a public apology for his conduct.

Fig 2 : One of the written testimonies collected from local Hindus mentioning the abuse of Devi Durga by his brother Musa Molla in 2021

The Bangladesh Police has claimed that the supporters of ISKCON had attacked Osman Ali with the intention of murdering him. Images of the chargesheet produced by the Bangladesh Police in front of the judiciary under S. I. Mizanur Rehman Chaudhary shall be provided in the Appendix for reference.

However, the Hindus had demanded an apology from Osman Ali and did not simply attack him with murderous intentions as implied in the chargesheet. Osman Ali gave a written confession to the local Hindus, accepting that he had hurt their religious sentiments. He also mentions that fellow shopowners, goldworkers and authorities of the Miyan Shopping Complex (in which his shop “Molla Stores” is located) provided protection to him.

Figure 3 : The written confession by Oswan Ali

The policemen arrested Osman Ali and he was given protective equipment like helmet. At least 250 Hindus were chanting slogans outside the Miyan Shopping Complex by 6 p.m. and the on-duty policemen requested for extra backup.

Local Hindus confirm that no members of ISKCON were present among the protestors and ISKCON had nothing to do with the spontaneous protest. Local Hindus and victims like Setu Dhar, Dolon Dhar, Emon De, Anadi Sutradhar say that the police had initially assured the protestors that they would ask for the maximum possible punishment for Osman Ali from the Judiciary via loudspeakers but their behaviour changed after the arrival of a backup police force at around 6.30 p.m.

Iqbal Hossain had placed a Quran on the lap of an idol of Hanuman Ji, leading to attacks on the lives, livelihood and places of worship of Hindus throughout Bangladesh. Islamist mobs vandalised and desecrated at least 343 temples and 1650 houses belonging to Hindus. At least 14 Hindus were murdered by fundamentalist muslims [9]. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh failed to submit a chargesheet against Iqbal Hossain for over 9 months [10]. He was sentenced to 16 months in jail for instigating anti-Hindu violence in 2023 but was released for having served his sentence in advance [11].

The local JM Sen Durga Puja Mandap was also attacked while Hindu women were inside performing the ritual of “varan”. Such incidents and the lack of decisive action against the perpetrators had led to a deep sense of distrust among the local Hindus, including the protestors.

Local Hindus mention that the policemen were behaving in an arrogant manner after the arrival of a backup force of around 10-15 policemen. Such behaviour only angered the protesting Hindus, who started shouting slogans questioning the credibility of the policemen. The Police chargesheet claims that at a heavily-armed mob of 400-500 “ISKCON supporters” and “Chatra League (Student Wing of the Bangladesh Awami Party) members” had entered the Miyan Shopping Complex and surrounded them. Local Hindus and Hindu Organisations say that none of the protestors were armed. The protestors demanded that Osman Ali be temporarily handed over to them for public humiliation.

A small detachment of Bangladesh Army had arrived by 7.00 p.m. and the combined force of security personnel attempted to make their way out by manhandling the protestors. Some of the protestors and market complex authorities locked both of gates and attempts by people like Setu Dhar to calm down the protestors were unsuccessful.

Hindu protestors like Setu Dhar, Shumon Sarkar, Arup Chanda, Supriyo Roy, SubornoJyoti and many others say that the responsible police officer had ordered a lathi-charge on the unarmed Hindu protestors who had entered the Miyan Shopping Complex. The crowd of 300 protestors waiting outside were triggered by the sight of unarmed Hindus being attacked. They refused to allow the security prersonnel to leave with Osman Ali who were stuck inside Hajari Goli for over 30 minutes.

Few protestors hurled pieces of brickbats at Osman Ali and many of the protestors were attempting to snatch him from the security personnel leading to scuffles with the security personnel. An emergency call for help was sent to the army by the security personnel who were bogged down in the middle of Hajari Goli with nowhere to go.

60-80 armymen had arrived at around 8 p.m. to clear the crowd of irate Hindu protestors. They raised their rifles and fired towards the sky for several minutes before using tear gas to disperse the protestors. Law and order was restored by 8.30 p.m. and the security personnel stuck inside with Osman Ali were able to get out.

The Bangladesh Police accuses the Hindu protestors of hurling acid at the security personnel wounding 11 security personnel. It also mentions that 2 policemen were severely injured by the pieces of brickbats hurled by protesting Hindus. Local Hindus claim that the second allegation is completely baseless.

Local Hindus and leaders of prominent Hindu Organisations like Palash Kanti Dey say that acid is not an easily transportable commodity and none of the protestors in the narrow lane were carrying acid. The acid was thrown by unknown miscreants from 4 or 5 story buildings. No CCTV footage exists of the acid attacks. They argue that hurling large quantities of acid from such heights in the middle of a close quarter scuffle would have injured many of the protestors too.

They claim that reports of the acid attack are exaggerated with many inaccuracies. They think that miscreants having nothing to do with the Hindu protestors had hurled acid droplets of which have landed on the security personnel. The claim the reported injuries mentioned in the chargesheet as “misleading”.

The twin attacks on Hajari Goli

At least 400 policemen, army and BDR personnel had entering Hajari Lane after blocking both the exits. Many Hindus from the nearby Hindu-dominated areas like Teribajaar had reached Hajari Goli to enquire about the situation. Many people who needed to buy medicines urgently were also there. A mob of around 600 muslims had assembled outside Hajari Goli but they were unable to enter due to the presence of the army. They were mostly motivated by docial media posts encouraging local muslims to “teach the malauns (cursed by Allah) a lesson”.

The security personnel started to indiscriminately attack anyine they could see without giving any warning. Local Hindus like Setu Dhar claim that the security personnel had initially failed to notice the presence of a large number of CCTV cameras but soon began smashing every CCTV camera that they could see. Several videos of security personnel smashing CCTV cameras went viral in social media [12].

Hundreds of innocent Hindus who had arrived for purchasing medicines or to enquire about the situation were hunted down and brutally beaten up. Supriyo Roy describes the sight of a young Hindu boy being beaten with sticks by 5 military personnel near the Equity Market as “traumatising”. The boy was beaten up until he lay motionless in the middle of the lane. He was then dragged along the road for several metres before being dumped on the side [13]. An aged heart patient who came for buying medicines after some of the shops had reopened was beaten up by security personnel [14].

The security personnel began chasing people who started to run into neighbouring houses in desperation. Local Hindus claim that the security personnel took advantage of this panicked retreat to as a pretext to enter houses and beat up any men they could find, often dragging them out into the lane from their homes. Videos of Bangladeshi Army members threatening to break down the doors of a Hindu family on the count of three have gone viral [15]. Several local people claim that the security personnel had threatened to shoot them [16].

Apprentice goldsmiths form a significant portion of these victims. They are mostly teenagers with an average age of around 16 years who stay inside the gold shops at night, learning their craft during non-business hours. Security personnel entered these shops by breaking open the locks and vandalised everything in sight. 15-year old apprentice Shagrid, who claims to be lucky for being alive, says that they completely ignored his warnings about the  presence of hazardous chemicals like acid while vandalising the gold shop in which he works.

He says:“ Dada, I do not understand what you wish to achieve by writing this report. They will ignore everything. People will forget after few days. If they know that I talked to a Bharatiya, me and my family will simply disappear. They beat me up but I am happy that I did not suffer a broken arm or leg like many others. They kept calling me “Malaun” while beating me up”.

Local Hindus, market owners and multiple Hindu Organisations of Bangladesh confirm that at least 100 Hindus were severely wounded during the 2 attacks on Hajari Goli that night, who had to be hastily brought to hospital by the army to prevent loss of life and limb. More than another 100 Hindus who were non-locals and had nothing to do with the protests were left without any medical care.

Local Hindus like Uttam Kumar say that no healthcare professionals were allowed to enter Hajari Goli till 10^th November. Many of these injured victims were teenager apprentice goldsmiths. Local people had to physically carry them to hospitals without any support from the authorities.   

Figures 4 and 5: Some of the injuries suffered by the Hindus of Hajari Goli during the 2 attacks

Local Hindus accuse the security personnel of indiscriminately attacking them for over 2 hours. Hindus who were not severely injured came out to help the remaining injured people who did not receive any medical care yet. The security personnel had returned around 3.30 a.m. in the morning and began to attack the local Hindus like Ratan, Sulal and Uttamkumar who were carrying the injured Hindus from the previous attack to nearby hospitals. Most of the already injured Hindus were beaten up again.

At least 300 Hindus were detained without proper documentation and sent to nearby Police Stations or Army Cantonments. Local Hindus like Setu Dhar claim at least 200 shops were vandalised during these attacks.

Figures 6 and 7 : A vandalised shop in Hajari Goli

The security personnel proceeded to seal each and every shop of Hajari Goli , claiming to prevent further acid attacks. The local Hindus were not allowed to continue their livelihood for the next three days. Setu Dhar says that he has suffered a loss of 10-12  lakh Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) during these three days. Other local residents and market complex owners say the Hindus of Hajari Goli have suffered financial losses of 800 crore BDT as a result of the vandalism and enforced closure of trade.

Aftermath

100 out of the 300 Hindus detained were released within 24 hours. Dolon Dhar, who came to visit his relative working as an apprentice goldsmith during his dinner time was arrested and taken to a local police station. He was brutally beaten for several hours and suffered a broken elbow and several bruised bones from the prolonged torture. He refuses to name the police personnel who tortured him.

Security Personnel had arrested the husband of Mona Das a cancer patient with a 9 -year old child, who went to Hajari Goli to get her medication. She and her child was forced to starve for 2 days before local Hindus could find and assist them. The authorities have neither released her husband nor assisted her in any way to continue her treatment till date [17]. Several local Hindus have posted videos of them describing how security personnel would beat them for 20-30 minutes and then give them a “break” of 3-4 hours before the next cycle of torture [18] [19].

80 out of the remaining 200 Hindus were produced in front of court while the rest of the Hindus are being released in small groups. Many of them accuse the army personnel and policemen of

1. Demanding 2-6 lakh BDT from their families for their release [20].
2. Attempting to get fake statements out of them blaming ISKCON for anti-national activities using torture.
3. Trying to get false confessions of them being R&AW agents through torture.
4. Trying to force them to convert into Islam.

The above details are confirmed by CPL Corporal Shibaji Lahiri of the Bangladesh Army.

Radical islamists had organised a protest rally on 08.11.2024, demanding a ban against ISKCON in the neighbouring Andarkilla region of Chattagram. Slogans like “ Catch each and every one of the ISKCON devotees and slaughter them”, “burn down every single temple owned by ISKCON” and “Pakistan Zindabad” were repeatedly heard during the rally [21] [22].  Local Hindus like Emon De and Setu Dhar say that several employees of the First Security and Islami Bank of Andrkilla were threatening Hindus, warning them of dire consequences like burning down the entire Hajari Goli.

Nobody was allowed to go near Hajari Goli without special permit till 08.11.2024 and multiple checkpoints were set up along the 2 possible entry/ exit ways. Local Hindus were body-searched and thoroughly questioned every time they intended to go out for any purpose.

Conclusion

The threat of attack continues to loom over the Hindu residents of Hajari Goli. A glance Bangladeshi social media platforms show several viral posts from radical Islamists urging muslims to teach the Hindus a lesson. The security personnel had been attempting to protect the Hindus since 5^th August in Chattagram with reasonable consistency. Now with them indulging in vandalism and launching attacks on fellow civilians without an investigation, who do the Hindus of Bangladesh turn to?

Annexure (the Chargesheet)

References :

[1]  https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/bangladesh-security-forces-attack-hindus-chittagong-clashes-social-media-post-iskcon-video-viral-2629424-2024-11-07

[2]  https://en.somoynews.tv/news/2024-09-14/PtA23Vz2 

[3]  https://ddnews.gov.in/en/bangladesh-iskcon-asks-mahmudur-rahman-to-seek-apology-in-7-days/#:~:text=Sree%20Charu%20Chandra%20Das%20Brahmachari,calls%20for%20bans%20on%20ISKCON.

[4]  https://dailyinqilab.com/bangladesh/news/699359

[5]  https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/363837/bnp-leader-expelled-for-fling-case-against-iskcon

[6]  https://www.opindia.com/2024/10/hindu-boy-arrested-blasphemy-muslim-mob-attacks-police-station-army-vehicle-patiya-chittagong-bangladesh/

[7]  https://x.com/avroneel80/status/1840709121517269312?t=iU6UkubnwvyKuXEy5yQSCg&s=19

[8]  https://x.com/avroneel80/status/1840119936561398131?t=zN3-6xW6tBTYtsysciJFqQ&s=19

[9]  https://www.hinduamerican.org/projects/human-rights-report/bangladesh-2021

[10]  https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/291082/comilla-puja-mandap-violence-cases-in-limbo-no

[11]  https://www.opindia.com/2023/03/iqbal-hossain-sentenced-quran-anti-hindu-violence-bangladesh/

[12]  https://x.com/GBHAlliance/status/1853989273743007905?t=C2tCtPWf-9aQRQ8gz0auWQ&s=19

[13]  https://x.com/SBHPage/status/1853872774391214142?t=R9leFDoS-9a_A52j2LqxTQ&s=19

[14]  https://x.com/VHindus71/status/1853861753345761354?t=I678kBYaCB90hDF8AG1ipw&s=19

[15] https://x.com/AshwiniSahaya/status/1853887091320750203?t=bIzkdJfFyI6Et2u701RbRQ&s=19

[16]  https://x.com/taslimanasreen/status/1854195143898693796?t=a-MQlWklpehx5QOCvDCl9A&s=19

[17]  https://x.com/hindu8789/status/1855978794277798050?t=ykqtKDskfr2nA-2LnLJboA&s=19

[18] https://x.com/HinduVoice_in/status/1854728420011172048?t=Q5pBw1NbMtk94GqUUMD7kw&s=19

[19]  https://x.com/GBHAlliance/status/1856372291183227249?t=3M9TjLmoOhFxHFw2KsSg7w&s=19

[20]  https://x.com/VHindus71/status/1855618665825092057?t=RVuX6wFZYGJbs5lHaK3FMw&s=19

[21] https://x.com/deepscribble/status/1854898475692941484?t=qeoO41PpexhtE1iDKEPWaw&s=19

[22] https://x.com/hindupost/status/1854879129935462768?t=vJMRdSBU_wReVO3Yw9wiMQ&s=19