Amid vibrant celebrations across Bangladesh to mark its biggest Hindu religious festival, a string of attacks on temples and Durga Puja pandals occurred in Comilla district and elsewhere following "rumours" spread through social media.
Authorities have taken serious note of the incidents, deploying paramilitary forces and asking authorities to act against the perpetrators.
A temple in Comilla became the flashpoint on Tuesday night for allegedly disrespecting the Quran.
Local officials told IANS that some BNP and Jamaat-e-Islam miscreants planted a copy of the Holy Quran at the feet of Ganesh in the Durga pantheon at Nanuyar Dighir Par Temple on Tuesday night.
"The miscreants took some pictures of this and ran away. Within a few hours, using Facebook, the propaganda spread like wildfire with the provocative pictures," said a district official.
Angry mobs vandalised puja pandals, and the temple.
Ruling Awami League workers swung into action along with police to cordon off the Durga Puja pandals and temples. Later in the day, more units of security forces were deployed in Comilla town and other sensitive areas of the district and elsewhere in the region.
The news has spread across the border too with Indian Hindus enraged at the state of affairs. Many are demanding justice for the Hindus in Bangladesh.
Here's what people are saying. Have a look.
With inputs from PTI.
