Kolkata: A youth from West Bengal’s Belgharia area in northern outskirts of Kolkata was allegedly attacked by a group of locals in Dhaka when he went there to visit his friend.
Sayan Ghosh has returned home, injured and traumatised, and yet to come to terms with the situation he faced across the border.
Recounting the incident, Sayan said he had gone to Dhaka on November 23 with a valid visa, tickets and other documents. On November 26, he and his friend, who is a resident of the Jurain area of Dhaka, had gone to a local market when a group of around six youths accosted them, inquiring about their nationality and religion.
“The moment they came to know that I am from India, they started thrashing me. My friend was also not spared. They attacked us with knives and snatched away my wallet and mobile phone," Sayan said.
An injured Sayan was immediately taken to a local medical facility, where he was initially denied treatment. Later, the duo went to a hospital and underwent treatement.
Sayan said, “The doctors were initially hesitant in treating me after they came to know about my nationality. Later, we went to the local police station but nobody cooperated with us. Instead, they kept asking me why had I come to Bangladesh and what my exact purpose of visit was.”
Sayan alleged that his hosts were also regularly threatened and questioned by the police while he was recuperating in their house. “They kept on warning my friend’s parents and relatives that they could be in grave danger for extending hospitality to a person from India. Eventually, my friend and his family members advised me to return home,” recounts Sayan.
The youth returned home in Belgharia on Saturday in a traumatised condition. Sayan’s father Sukanta Ghosh said the family intends to lodge a formal complaint with Bangladesh as well as Indian authorities.
Notably, a Hindu cleric and an associate of the ISKCON in Bangladesh, Chinmay Krishna Das was arrested on November 25 and since then, there have been repeated incidents of attacks on religious minorities in the neighbouring country. India has already expressed concerns about the incidents and has urged for a fair trial of the cleric. Das has initially been denied bail and his case is expected to come up for hearing tomorrow.
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