INDIA: Police in India's northeastern state of Tripura arrested seven members of a group and charged them with breaking into the Bangladesh consulate and vandalizing property, a police official said Tuesday.
The move came hours after Muslim-majority Bangladesh called for immediate action against protesters who stormed the consulate, saying they broke down its main door, damaged property and desecrated the national flag.
Those arrested were part of demonstrations organized by the Hindu Sangharsha Samiti, a group that claims to protect Hindu interests, after Bangladesh arrested a Hindu religious leader, Chinmoy Krishna Das, last week.
“Around 50 of them broke into the main gate of the property and pulled down the Bangladesh flag pole,” said district police officer Kiran Kumar K in western Tripura.
Among the 4,000 protesters were more people involved in the robbery and police were investigating, he said, adding that disciplinary action had been taken against four police officers in charge of consulate security.
In a statement on Monday, India's Ministry of External Affairs called the incident deeply regrettable and added that diplomatic and consular properties should not be attacked under any circumstances.
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Das, arrested last week at the airport in Dhaka, the capital, accused of sedition, among others, is associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
His arrest sparked protests in Dhaka and the southern port city of Chittagong, where his supporters clashed with security forces.
Hindu-majority India also condemned the arrest and expressed concern about attacks on Hindus and other minorities in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
