August 6, 2024  As turmoil deepens in Bangladesh, news has emerged that idols of gods like Lord Jagannath, Baladev, and Subhadra Devi, as well as an ISKCON temple in Meherpur, in the nation's Khulna Division, have been set ablaze. A few of the temple's residents were able to flee the mayhem and live as violent protests that erupted across the nation on Monday resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
"According to the information, Lord Jagannath, Baladev, and Subhadra Devi's images were torched together with one of our ISKCON centers, which was rented, at Meherpur, in the Khulna division. Three devotees who resided in the center were able to escape and survive, according to Yudhistir Govinda Das, the National Spokesperson and Country Director of Communications for ISKCON India. Two Hindu councillors are said to have been shot dead, while violent demonstrators are said to have vandalized Hindu homes and temples, including a Kali temple. Witnesses reported that on Monday, a rabble of people vandalized the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum and the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in the Dhanmondi neighborhood of the capital city of Bangladesh.

For a long time, Bangladesh has had a reputation for targeting minority Hindus in violent attacks. Over the years, there have been frequent instances of violence against Hindus during festivals, but Hasina and her administration seemed to be working towards controlling the extremists. Now that Hasina is no longer in power and radicals from the BNP and Jamaat are poised to assume control with military support, there are fears that the already rampant violence and discrimination against Hindus in Bangladesh could escalate significantly. 

Sheikh Hasina, ex-Prime Minister of Bangladesh, reached close to Delhi at 5:36 pm on Monday. She had quit and departed Bangladesh with her sister because of large and lethal anti-government demonstrations. At the moment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is presiding over a cabinet meeting to discuss the crisis in Bangladesh. At the moment, Hasina is located at a safe spot in the Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad, where she landed. The Indian government has put all units on high alert along the 4,096 km India-Bangladesh border, with acting BSF Director General Daljit Singh Chawdhary and other senior officials coming to Kolkata to evaluate the security conditions.