The High Court on Tuesday issued a rule asking the interim government to explain its inaction on a letter seeking intervention from the home affairs ministry to protect shrines (mazars) across the country.
A vacation bench of Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Molla and Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque passed the order in response to a writ petition filed on September 10 by Shah Alam Ovi, a Supreme Court lawyer and follower of the Maizbhandari Sufi order.
The rule requires the secretaries of the ministries of home, public administration, cultural affairs, and the Office of the Waqf Administrator, among others, to respond within four weeks.
The court further directed the relevant authorities to resolve Shah Alam鈥檚 application within two months.
The application calls for action against those responsible for recent attacks on several shrines across the country.
Shah Alam鈥檚 lawyer, Mohammad Taufiq Sajawar, argued that the authorities have failed to take adequate measures against those involved in the vandalization of the shrine of Ali Khwaza, also known as Ali Pagol, in Kazipur upazila, Sirajganj, on August 29. A mob from nearby villages had demolished the entire structure, alleging drug abuse in the area.
The lawyer further mentioned that a recent shrine demolition in Purbachal, Narayanganj, highlights the continuing failure of the authorities to act.
He informed the court that a total of 69 shrines have been destroyed since the interim government took power following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a student-led uprising on August 5. Bangladesh Aseke Auliya, during a recent protest rally in Dhaka, claimed that 45 incidents of shrine vandalism have occurred since the fall of the Awami League government.
On September 13, two more shrines were vandalized in Noakhali and Gazipur.
On September 15, Religious Affairs Adviser AFM Khalid Hossain instructed deputy commissioners to take immediate action to protect shrines nationwide. The ministry, in a press release, acknowledged the recent surge in attacks and condemned them as an attempt to destabilize the country.
