‘No govt-sponsored discrimination against minorities’

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Saturday said Bangladesh is not a country where one would find any government-sponsored systematic discrimination against the minorities, reports UNB.

"It is unfortunate that the death of Bhabesh Chandra Roy has been described as part of a pattern of systematic persecution of the Hindu minorities under the interim government," he said while responding to a question on the comments of India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Bhabesh's death in Dinajpur.

Rejecting India's claims as "baseless", he said the present government is protecting the rights of all citizens, irrespective of their religious denominations.

"In this particular case, we have ascertained that the victim went out with some individuals previously known to him. Nobody from the victim's family reported his going out with them as suspicious."

The autopsy report did not detect any prima facie sign of bodily injury, he said, adding that the authorities have ordered viscera analysis to conclusively determine the cause of death.

Appropriate action would be taken once the viscera report is available, Alam said, adding that they urge all quarters to refrain from making fabricated and provoking comments on the incident.

Earlier, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said they have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh.