The Bangladesh mission at Agartala in India was closed on security ground on Tuesday a day after it came under attack by a group of Indian protesters during a violent demonstration.
Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma was summoned by the foreign ministry in Dhaka over the 鈥榟einous attack鈥� on its mission in Agartala, capital of Tripura state.
鈥楪iven the security situation, all visa and consular services at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission, Agartala will remain suspended until further notice,鈥� said first secretary and head of chancery Md Al Amin in a notice issued on Tuesday, adding that this came into effect immediately.
This is for the intimation of all the visa and consular service seekers, according to the office order.
In the presence of the members of the local law enforcement agencies, the Indian protesters on Monday vandalised the flag pole, desecrated the national flag of Bangladesh and also damaged properties inside the assistant high commission, according to the foreign ministry officials in Dhaka.
Tripura has been witnessing widespread protests over the arrest and detention of a Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, a former leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, in Chattogram on November 25.聽聽
The violent demonstration and attack by a large group of protesters of the Hindu Sangharsh Samity on Monday afternoon on the premises of the assistant high commission of Bangladesh in Agartala of India drew widespread condemnations and protests here in Bangladesh.
Indian high commissioner Verma, after attending the meeting with acting foreign聽 secretary Reaz Hamidullah on being summoned, said, 鈥榃e are willing to engage with the interim government of Bangladesh.鈥�
The Indian envoy on Tuesday also told the reporters that Delhi wanted to maintain constant, stable and constructive relationship with Dhaka.
Terming the relationship between the two countries as 鈥榤ultifaceted and wide-ranging鈥�, he said that India was interested to work with Bangladesh government to fulfill shared aspiration of the two neighbouring nations for peace, security and development.聽
Chief Adviser鈥檚 Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam at a separate briefing at the Foreign Service Academy, said India was a big neighbour of Bangladesh and the government wanted good relations with the neighbour.
鈥楤ut the good relationship should be based on just and equity,鈥� he added.
The Hindustan Times reported that Indian authorities have already arrested seven people and suspended four police officers for their alleged involvement in the attack on Bangladesh assistant high commission in Agartala.
The Indian police on Tuesday said that聽 a case was filed against the suspects, including Jhutan Das (Golchakkar border), Ujjwal Das (Dashamighat), Diptanil Bhowmik (Abhoynagar), Surja Das (Amtali), Alak Majumder (SDO Chowmuhani), Pradip Saha (79 Tilla), and Jhulan Malakar (Belonia), read the report available online.
Thousands of people on Monday held a massive rally in Agartala, demanding the immediate release of Chinmoy and stopping alleged attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, reports The Economic Times on Monday.
Protesters from the rally brought out a procession under the banner of Hindu Sangharsh Samity, an affiliate of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and stormed into the Bangladesh assistant high commissioner鈥檚 office there having a workforce of only nine.
All the employees of the mission office were left with insecurity after the protesters damaged properties inside the office and desecrated Bangladesh鈥檚 national flag, according to foreign ministry officials in Dhaka.
The Bangladesh high commission in New Delhi maintains diplomatic representative offices in Agartala, Chennai, Mumbai, Guwahati and Kolkata.
The Indian government, meanwhile, has upped the security of the Bangladesh diplomatic missions in India, the Indian media reported.
Indian Hindus also took part in a protest outside the Bangladesh mission in Mumbai on Monday amid the unrest in Bangladesh after the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das, Agence France-Presse reported.
The professor Muhammad Yunus-led government has reaffirmed 鈥榠n the strongest terms鈥� that every Bangladeshi, regardless of their religious identity, has the 鈥榬ight to establish, maintain or perform respective religious rituals and practices or express views without hindrance.鈥�
Dhaka has deeply resented the violent demonstration and attack by the protesters of the Hindu Sangharsh Samity on the premises of the assistant high commission of Bangladesh in Agartala of India.
鈥楾his particular act in Agartala stands in violation of the inviolability of diplomatic missions, as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, asks for,鈥� said the Bangladesh foreign ministry in a press statement on Monday.
It said that all members of the assistant high commission were left 鈥榳ith a deep sense of insecurity.鈥�
The government has already called upon the Indian government to take immediate action to address this incident, to undertake a thorough investigation into the incident and to prevent any further acts of violence against the diplomatic missions of Bangladesh in India, including the safety and security of the diplomats and the non-diplomatic members of staff and members of their families.