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Sharp statements were exchanged between India and Bangladesh, with the latter rejecting the Indian Foreign Ministry’s explanation, describing the protests outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi as “misleading propaganda”.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that around 20–25 youth gathered outside the mission on 20 December to protest the killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district and demand protection for minorities.
The ministry said no attempt was made to breach security and police dispersed the group within minutes.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have seen misleading propaganda in some sections of the Bangladesh media on the incident.” He said visual evidence of the incident was publicly available. India said it is committed to ensuring the security of foreign diplomatic missions under the Vienna Convention.
India also said it was closely monitoring developments in Bangladesh and had conveyed to Bangladeshi authorities its “strong concern” over attacks on minorities, and urged that those responsible for Das’s killing be brought to justice.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry rejected India’s characterization, calling it “inappropriate” and saying the protest created panic among staff inside the High Commission. It said the mission was not given advance information about what it described as an “organized event.”
Dhaka also rejected any communal narrative. Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry said, referring to Das’s death, “We reject the Indian authorities’ attempt to portray an isolated attack on a Bangladeshi national, who belongs to the Hindu community, as an attack on minorities.”
The interim government said it was committed to the protection of minorities and stressed that all governments in the region have the responsibility to ensure minority protection within their borders.
Earlier in the day, India had Visa services suspended at the Indian Visa Application Center (IVAC) in ChattogramBangladesh, due to a separate protest that raised security concerns.
The protest that started Death of student leader Sharif Usman HadiPeople raised anti-India slogans, believing that the attackers had fled to India. They also demanded that the Bangladesh government hold India responsible for alleged interference in the internal affairs of Bangladesh.
(edited by : Priyanka Deshpande,