Not related to communal violence: Govt on Hindu Buddhist council's claim about killing of 23 minorities

The police have not found any evidence regarding the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council's claim that 23 people were killed in communal violence in the last four and a half months, Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said today (3 February).

Speaking at a press briefing in the capital's Foreign Service Academy, Azad said not a single incident among the 23 killings had any connection with communal violence. 

"The interim government took the claim of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council very seriously and collected a list of the 23 killings mentioned. The Chief Advisor Office sent the list to police and asked to know the real cause of each incident and the legal action taken," the deputy press secretary said.

"The police headquarters provided details about each incident. The police have found about the primary causes of 22 of the 23 incidents mentioned. However, no detailed information was available about one incident," he added.

"Of the killings, seven were related to theft and robbery, four were personal and family disputes, three general crimes such as rape, death due to excessive drinking and death due clash after verbal abuse, two accidents, two business enmity, one clash between locals, one land dispute, one suicide and the exact cause of one death is not yet known, but it is confirmed that there was no communal conflict."

This list also includes a person who was injured in an incident in January last year and died in hospital in December while undergoing treatment, he said.

The deputy press secretary also said 47 people have been arrested in connection with these incidents and 17 of those arrested have confessed to their crimes by giving confessional statements in court under Section 164.

"The interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus does not condone any kind of violence. At the same time, the interim government considers the propaganda of describing such incidents as communal violence as worrying.

"Considering that such propaganda can lead to the destruction of the overall communal harmony of the country, the interim government calls on all parties to be more responsible," Azad added.