Bangladesh: Iqbal, who put Quran in Puja Mandap, sentenced to 16 months’ jail

On Thursday (March 2), a Dhaka courtroom sentenced one Mohammad Iqbal Hossain to 16 months imprisonment for orchestrating the anti-Hindu violence throughout the 2021 Durga Puja celebrations in Bangladesh by inserting a replica of the Quran on the ft of Lord Hanuman.

As per a report by The Daily Star, the matter was heard by the Dhaka Cyber Tribunal Judge AM Zulfiker Hayet. He handed the decision within the presence of the accused.

Given that Mohammed Iqbal Hossain had already served 16 months behind bars, the Judge directed the jail authorities to launch him for having served his sentence prematurely (in case he’s not needed in some other case).

The Background of the Case

On October 13, 2021, a 35-year-old man named Iqbal Hossain positioned a replica of the Quran on the ft of the idol of Lord Hanuman on the Nanuar Dighir Par Durga Mandir within the Cumilla district of Bangladesh.

His actions triggered a sequence of violent assaults towards the minority Hindus within the nation. The Hindu group had insisted vehemently that no person amongst them had stored the Islamic ‘Holy book’ on the Puja Pandal and the incident was a deliberate plan to foment hassle.

#Watch| CCTV footage reveals one Iqbal Hossain has been recognized as the principle suspect – inserting the Holy Quran on the Durga puja mandap in Comilla resulting in violence, says Bangladesh Police. He continues to stay at massive @RadharamnDas @IskconKolkata #Comilla #Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/823SKoH9E5

— Pooja Mehta (@pooja_news) October 21, 2021

For over 5 days, homes and temples of the Hindu group in Bangladesh remained beneath assault. Videos of damaged idols, demolished pandals and Moorti of Maa Durga being thrown in a pond emerged on social media platforms together with different movies of assaults on Hindus.

It got here to mild later that the copy of the Quran was given to Iqbal Hossain by the caretakers of a close-by mosque. The accused was arrested from Cox Bazar on October 21, 2021, by the Tongi Purba Police Station in Ghazipur and booked beneath the stringent Digital Security Act.

After analysing the CCTV footage, it was additionally discovered that the accused incited individuals to commit violence within the morning and gave hate speeches towards Hindus.