DHAKA: Following seven arrests for breaking over the mission’s security barricades and causing property damage a day earlier, the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala has suspended all consular services until further notice, citing security concerns, according to a Hindustan Times story on Tuesday.
Following protests in Tripura over reported attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, security guards maintain vigil at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission amid increased security.
“All visa and consular services at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission, Agartala, will remain suspended until further notice due to the security situation.” This takes effect right away. A memo signed by Mohammad Al-Ameen, the First Secretary of the Bangladeshi Assistant High Commission, stated, “This is for the notification of all the Visa and Consular service seekers.”
In the most recent escalation of the tense relations between the neighbors, Bangladesh called in New Delhi’s ambassador on Tuesday following an attack on one of its consulates in India.
The August student-led rebellion that overthrew Sheikh Hasina, the dictatorial former leader of Bangladesh who is currently living in India, strained relations.
The Hindu minority community in Bangladesh, which was the target of retaliatory attacks in the tumultuous wake of Hasina’s overthrow due to their alleged support for her regime, has been repeatedly denied protection by New Delhi.
Attack on Agartala
During a demonstration in Agartala, a tiny Indian city near the shared border between Bangladesh and India, Hindu activists on Monday attempted to storm a Bangladeshi embassy.
Seven persons have been arrested by local police, and India has denounced the breach.
Indian High Commissioner (ambassador) Pranay Verma stated his nation’s commitment to working with the interim government, which came into power following Hasina’s overthrow, to enact democratic changes after meeting with representatives of Bangladesh’s foreign ministry.
Verma said reporters, “This is a broad relationship, a multifaceted relationship.”
“We are still interested in collaborating with the Bangladeshi government to achieve our common goals of development and security.”
India, Hasina’s primary foreign supporter throughout her harsh, 15-year tenure, is still seen negatively by the public in the 170 million-person Muslim-majority country.
In a post on X, 26-year-old sociology graduate Nahid Islam, who is currently a member of the interim cabinet and was instrumental in the demonstrations against Hasina’s government, charged that “India’s ruling elite” were “fostering hatred against Bangladesh.”
“The Indian government risks undermining shared democratic values by continuing to provide refuge and support to Sheikh Hasina, a fugitive responsible for genocide and child killings,” he warned.
