Demonstration at Shahbag protesting communal violence

Hundreds of people including Dhaka University students and Hindu people staged a demonstration at Shahbagh intersection in the capital protesting the recent communal violence carried out on temples and puja mandaps at different parts of the country during Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community.

The demonstration started around 10:30 am blocking traffic movement at the intersection.

Hundreds of vehicles got stuck in the nearby areas including Bangla Motor, Farmgate, Science Lab, Paltan and Elephant Road.

Earlier in the day, a group of students from Dhaka University and the people of the Hindu Community gathered at the Teacher Student Centre of the university and marched towards the Shahbagh intersection.

Later, they staged the demonstration there around 10:30am and blocked the road.

They also raised a demand to form a separate ministry to protect the minority communities in the country.

Several religious places of the Hindu community were vandalised and houses attacked in Cumilla town after an alleged incident of desecration of the Holy Quran became viral on social media on Wednesday.

The incident of alleged desecration was reported from Nanuar Dighir Par Durga Mandir in Cumilla town which was posted on Facebook.

The attacks took place on some other temples in the town also after which police and fire brigade teams were called by the temple committee.

Houses and properties of the minority Hindu community were also attacked by the miscreants, according to locals.