Bangladesh Recalls Diplomats From India’s Kolkata, Tripura Amid Rising Tensions

Two senior Bangladeshi diplomats in India were “urgently” recalled on Thursday amid the rising tensions between both nations, according to sources.

Muhammad Yunus-led Bangladesh government recalled the acting Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata, Shikdar Mohammad Ashraful Rahman, and Assistant High Commissioner in Agartala, Arif Mohammad. It comes after reports of protests in West Bengal and Tripura, both of which border Bangladesh, over the arrest of religious leader and Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu on sedition charges and reports of attacks on minorities there.

According to diplomatic sources in New Delhi, the two diplomats have been reportedly asked to work from Dhaka until further instruction. They added that Sikder Mohammad returned to Bangladesh on Thursday, while Arif Mohammad of the Agartala mission is scheduled to reach Dhaka by Saturday. They were ordered to return to Dhaka on an emergency basis on Tuesday.

Security Breach At Bangladeshi Mission In Agartala
Earlier this week, hundreds of people had breached the assistant high commission’s office in Agartala, prompting the mission to suspend consular services. According to officials, protesters took out a massive rally near the Bangladeshi mission in the capital city of Tripura, protesting the arrest of Chinmoy Das in Bangladesh as well as attacks on the Hindu community in the country.

In a statement, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry alleged that the Agartala protesters were allowed to enter the premises following which they vandalised the flag pole and desecrated the national flag of Bangladesh. “The accounts received conclusively attest that the protesters were allowed to aggress into the premises by breaking down the main gate of Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in a pre-planned manner,” the statement said.

In the process, it said, the protesters vandalised the flag pole, desecrated the national flag of Bangladesh and also damaged properties inside the Assistant High Commission in the presence of the members of the local law enforcement agencies.