Diluting charges to denying crimes: How violence against minorities is being whitewashed in Bangladesh
New Delhi: There has been a new pattern in Bangladesh whereby the police are diluting charges against the perpetrators of violence against the minority community, particularly the Hindus, so that such incidents are passed off as accidents or personal disputes.
Intelligence agencies say that the Jamaat-e-Islami is playing the game of the ISI to perfection.
The original idea is to wipe out every minority from the country.
If one notices the pattern, every time a person from the minority is killed, the police pass it off as some kind of personal rivalry.
There have also been instances where the Hindus are projected as outsiders or Indian agents.
Even the killing of anti-India student leader, Osman Hadi, was being passed off as a hit job by Indian agents.
An official said that the idea is to make every Bangladeshi anti-India, as is the case in Pakistan. Violence against minorities always existed in Bangladesh. However, the manner in which it is being done clearly signals that the Jamaat is following the ISI’s playbook, the official said.
Another disturbing trend that the Indian agencies have found is that the extremists have been told that it is their obligation to kill the minorities. This is what has been taking place in Pakistan for a very long time.
The idea is to identify one community and target them violently. This leads to the unification of radical mobilisation. What is happening now in Bangladesh is a textbook copy of what has been taking place in Pakistan for decades.
The Jamaat-backed elements are also very active on social media. Each time a member of the minority community is killed, they have been trying to bring in the blasphemy angle. These false allegations spread like wildfire, which eventually leads to mob mobilisation, who then go on to carry out more acts of violence. This is nothing but structured violence, and Indian agencies warn that such acts are not going to stop anytime soon.
The Jamaat and ISI are using religion as a cover to carry out the killings of minorities.
Another official explained that these mobs get away with such acts. The cases slapped against are weak and many a time not even connected to the actual violence.
Despite many raising their voice against such institutionalised violence, Bangladesh has consistently denied the allegations.
The filing of such frivolous cases for such a serious charge gives the establishment the chance to deny allegations that are of a very serious nature.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that on one hand, there is the targeting of the minorities, while on the other, a sustained attempt is being made to change the mindset of every Bangladeshi into being completely anti-India.
Doing so will help the ISI carry out its activities with much ease in Bangladesh, as they would have public support, an official says.
However, in the midst of all this, there is also a plan to disrupt or delay the elections.
The ISI and Jamaat have decided that not a single day would pass in Bangladesh where incidents of violence do not take place. It is trying to push the Election Commission into delaying the elections by citing the mindless violence that is ongoing in the country.
Further, the intention is also to change the outcome of the elections. Such incidents of violence, which have become a regular affair in Bangladesh, create fear and instability.
The idea is to keep a large chunk of voters away from the booths, so that the result is in favour of the Jamaat.
The Indian agencies say that in the run-up to the elections, the situation in Bangladesh is only going to get worse. What India will have to look out for is that there is no spillover from Bangladesh.