The interim government on Tuesday dismissed the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and Minority Unity Alliance鈥檚 July 10 claim of 27 deaths in sectarian violence between January and June this year.
鈥楤angladesh Police has thoroughly reviewed the 27 reported deaths. Of these, 22 were registered as regular murder cases, while five were recorded as unnatural deaths. None were connected to any kind of communal violence,鈥� said a statement of the chief adviser鈥檚 press wing.
Of the 27, two were killed over land disputes, two over financial disputes, seven accounted for robbery or dacoity, one was killed by a rival terrorist group, one was killed as a sequel of a quarrel over the purchase of a watermelon and three were killed by themselves, the statement said.
It said that bodies of 11 others were recovered under various circumstances and the incidents remained under investigation.
The council鈥檚 acting general secretary Monindra Kumar Nath, denying the government鈥檚 claim, said that all the 27 deaths resulted from sectarian violence.
鈥榃e have collected the data from media reports. We don鈥檛 understand why we will lie about such sectarian violence while living in the country,鈥� he said.
Monindra wanted to know whether attacks on temples would not be considered as sectarian attacks.
The CA鈥檚 press wing said that the council claimed that 2,442 incidents of sectarian attacks and violence occurred in the past 11 months.
To date, 48 individuals have been arrested, 15 have surrendered, and 18 have given confessional statements to courts.
Investigations confirm that none of these deaths were motivated by 鈥榗ommunal reasons鈥�, it added.
Bangladesh Police are investigating each of the reported incidents with utmost diligence and seriousness, following the facts wherever they lead, the CA office statement said.
