DHAKA: Bangladesh on Tuesday (Dec 23) summoned the top Indian envoy as fresh protests erupted outside its high commission in New Delhi over the mob lynching of a Hindu worker in Dhaka.
The garment worker was accused of blasphemy and lynched on Dec 18 as anti-India sentiment rises in the neighbouring majority Muslim nation. Seven suspects have been arrested over the killing.
On Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators converged near Bangladesh’s High Commission in New Delhi, waving saffron flags and banners, including one that read: “Stop Killing Hindus in Bangladesh.”
“Hindus are warning Bangladesh that it is taking the wrong approach,” said Puneet Gautam, 37, a protester and member of the right-wing Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) organisation.
VHP members and security personnel clashed outside Dhaka’s outpost as the crowd shoved its way through yellow metal barricades around 300m from the building.
Earlier on Tuesday, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry had summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma to express “grave concern” over previous protests outside its visa centres.
In its statement, the ministry cited “regrettable incidents” and vandalism outside its visa centres in New Delhi and Siliguri last week. India has dismissed reports of vandalism as “misleading propaganda”.
Ties between the neighbours have deteriorated since ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the pro-democracy uprising last year and sought refuge in India.
India says it is still considering Dhaka’s requests to extradite Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia for orchestrating a deadly crackdown on the uprising.
Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s rule, with violence marring the campaigning ahead of next year’s election.
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