Old case of land dispute shared as ISKCON temple in Bangladesh attacked

A video has been circulated on various social media platforms with the claim that ‘terrorists’ attacked ISKCON Netrakona Muktarpara Temple in Bangladesh, seriously injuring three devotees.

The video shared on Facebook page FM Hindu shows the alleged attack. The accompanying caption reads, “বাংলাদেশের নেত্রকোনা জেলার ইসকন মুক্তারপুর মন্দিরে হামলা চালিয়েছে মুসলিম জিহাদী বাহিনী। তিনজন ভক্ত মারাত্মকভাবে আহত হয়েছে।” (In Translation: Jihadi’s attacked the ISKCON Netrakona Muktarpara Temple in Bangladesh. Three devotees are seriously injured.)

The same video has also been tweeted by Chayan Chatterjee, the great-grandson of Bengali educationist Asutosh Mukherjee. Linking the video with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Chatterjee further wrote that Hindus in Bangladesh are unsafe. His tweet reads, “Radical group attacked ISKCON Netrokona Muktarpara Temple in Bangladesh. Three Krishna devotees are seriously injured. Just see how unsafe Hindus are in Bangladesh. Those who oppose #CAA and #NRC in India must answer.”

Clippings from the same video have also been shared with pictures of an injured monk. One Abhijit Basak shared it on Twitter on January 23, 2020. The tweet reads, “Attack on iskcon temple in BANGLADESH. Accordingly the terrorists were attacked by a communal slogan on Sri Sri Gaura Gopal Vigra Mandir of Netrakona Muktar Para. Hindus are not safe in Bangladesh.”

Abhijit Basak has stated in his profile that he is State IT Cell Convenor, BJYM, West Bengal. His tweet was retweeted by Twitter handle ‘Paschimbanga BJP.’

OLD INCIDENT GIVEN A FALSE COMMUNAL COLOUR

Alt News contacted a journalist (identity concealed at request) from Netrokona, Bangladesh who works with a national daily in the country. The journalist disproved social media claims. “Earlier in 2015, there was a case of a property dispute between a family and the management of ISKCON. The pictures are from that incident,” he said.

The journalist also confirmed that the incident had no communal violence and added, “Some followers of ISKCON had donated lands to Gour Gopal Bigraha which was occupied by the local residents, including both Hindus and Muslims. Netrokona is known for being one of the most peaceful places in Bangladesh. The dispute was settled after Netrokona Deputy Magistrate and Superintendent of Police called for a meeting and formed a committee. There is a case filed in High court by the management of ISKCON against the land grabbers.”

The Quint spoke to the Joint Secretary of ISKCON temple Bangladesh and accessed a copy of the complaint filed by the management. The accused named in the complaint were – Shanta Sarkar, Chhaya Sarkar, Rupan Chauhan, Rajan Chauhan, Mohd Paras, Himel Miya, Sharif Ahwal, Biswa Sarkar, Tapas Sarkar, Ujjal Sarkar.

Alt News reached out to Netrokona model police station and was informed, “We have not received any recent complaint. But there are reports filed against local land grabbers in 2015.” The police corroborated the names mentioned in The Quint’s report.

A case of a land dispute between a family and the management of an ISKCON temple in Bangladesh has been revived on social media. However, the incident has been shared with communal overtones in the backdrop of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.