Lagatar24 Desk
Dhaka, Oct.23: Bangladeshi security forces apprehended a guy in his 30s today, police officers said, who is thought to be the second main suspect in the recent violence against Hindus and mob attacks on temples in Bangladesh during the Durga Puja celebrations.
Officials from the Elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) claimed Shaikat Mandal, one of the masterminds behind the October 17 violence in Pirganj sub-district of northern Rangpur, and his accomplice were captured from Gazipur on the outskirts of Dhaka on Saturday.
Mandal had gone live on Facebook, inciting people and causing a wave of violence, according to a RAB official.
Following Mandal’s Facebook post on October 17, at least 70 Hindu homes and businesses were set ablaze in Pirganj.
Mandal’s arrest came a day after Iqbal Hossain, 35, a key suspect from the Cox Bazar region and the guy accused of placing the Quran at a Durga Puja location in Cumilla, was detained.
Hossain has been held under a seven-day police remand pending the arrival of additional security and intelligence organisations to question him.
So far, approximately 600 people have been arrested across the country for instigating violence against Hindus during the Durga Puja celebrations.
Hindus constitute around 10% of the Muslim-majority Bangladesh’s 169 million population.
