Those behind ‘bearded Asura’ incidents under investigation: Home Adviser

Home affairs adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has said that investigations are underway into the incidents of “attaching beards to faces of Asura” at Durga Puja pavilions across the country this year.

A total of 793 such incidents were reported nationwide, he confirmed, adding that general diaries (GDs) have been filed with local police stations, though no arrests have yet been made.

Speaking to newspersons on Sunday after a meeting of the Core Committee on Law and Order at the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Secretariat, the adviser said that religious leaders were immediately informed of the incidents and discussions were held with them.

He informed the media that they were cooperating with the authorities. “GDs have been filed in each case. Investigations are ongoing to identify those involved.”

Speaking to the media, Jahangir Alam Chowdhury also stated that there was a conspiracy to destabilise the Chittagong Hill Tracts by raising false allegations of rape, and another to destroy communal harmony by placing beards on the faces of demons at Durga Puja pavilions.

“It has now become evident that the accomplices of fascist elements were behind these plots,” he added.

The home affairs adviser further noted that an idol was made in a neighbouring country portraying the Chief Adviser in a derogatory manner.

Apart from this, there appears to be a link between them and those responsible for placing beards on demon figures here, he alleged.

Through strict surveillance by intelligence agencies and with the cooperation of local puja committees, the government successfully foiled these conspiracies, the home adviser said.

Speaking regarding the recent allegation of rape in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said, “No evidence was found in the medical report of the alleged rape incident that caused such an uproar. The conspiracy has been effectively neutralised due to the cooperation of the army, law enforcement agencies, and both hill and Bengali communities. The blockade in the hill districts has been withdrawn, as has Section 144.”

He further stated that fascist groups and their collaborators had attempted to incite religious discord and communal violence by placing beards on the idols of Asura at several puja mandaps. “Certain fascist intellectuals also encouraged this effort,” he said. “However, their conspiracy has failed. Like last year, this year’s Durga Puja concluded peacefully, smoothly, and in a festive spirit.”

When asked about the allegation of desecration of the Holy Qur’an by a student at North South University, the home affairs adviser said, “An investigation into the matter is underway.”