VHP demands halt to border trade with Bangladesh over killings of Hindus

Agartala, Jan 6 (IANS) The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), protesting against the killing of Hindus in Bangladesh, on Tuesday demanded a complete stoppage of border trade with the neighbouring country. 

VHP activists on Tuesday organised a protest at the Raghna check post and border trade point along the India-Bangladesh border in northern Tripura.

The protesters demanded a total halt to border trade and export-related activities with Bangladesh.

A large contingent of security personnel was deployed during the several-hour-long protest to maintain law and order.

Of the four northeastern states, Tripura has the highest number of trading points with Bangladesh -- six in total, including two Integrated Check Posts (ICPs).

Regular trade activities are conducted between Tripura and Bangladesh through these points.

Four northeastern states -- Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km) -- share a total 1,880-km-long border with Bangladesh, with more than a dozen border trade points functioning along these frontiers.

Over the past three weeks, at least six Hindu men, mostly businessmen, have been brutally killed in Bangladesh.

On December 18 last year, a 25-year-old Hindu youth, Dipu Chandra Das, was brutally lynched by a mob over false blasphemy allegations at his cloth factory in Bhaluka upazila of Mymensingh district. The mob killed Das, hung his body from a tree and then set it on fire.

On December 24 last year, Bangladeshi media reported the killing of another Hindu youth, identified as 29-year-old Amrit Mondal, who was allegedly lynched by a mob in the Hossaindanga area of Kalimohar Union in Bangladesh.

On December 29, 40-year-old Bajendra Biswas was shot dead by a colleague in Bhaluka.

On January 3, Khokon Chandra Das succumbed to his injuries after being brutally attacked by a mob of miscreants in Damudya upazila of Shariatpur district. Das, a businessman, was hacked and critically injured before the assailants poured petrol on him and set him on fire on December 31. Das died while undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka on January 3 morning.

On the night of January 5 this year, 40-year-old Sarat Chakraborty was fatally attacked with sharp weapons in Narsingdi district, allegedly by an extremist religious group. He succumbed to his injuries while being taken to a hospital.

On January 5 evening, 38-year-old Rana Pratap Bairagi was shot dead in public in Monirampur upazila of Jashore district. He owned an ice manufacturing factory in Kapalia Bazar, Monirampur, and also served as the acting editor of Bangladeshi newspaper 'Dainik BD Khobor', published from Narail.

Citing local residents and police, Bangladeshi vernacular daily Prothom Alo reported that three assailants arrived on a motorcycle around 5:45 p.m. on Monday, called Rana out of his factory, took him to a nearby lane and fatally shot him in the head before fleeing.

Bangladesh has witnessed escalating violence against all minorities, including Hindus, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, triggering outrage among people and several human rights organisations worldwide.

--IANS

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