Land Dispute Shared as Communal Attack on B’desh ISKCON Temple

We got in touch with the management of ISKCON and the police who said that the incident was a property dispute.

CLAIM

A video has been circulated on various social media platforms with the claim that it shows “Radical Islamic group” attacking ISKCON Netrakona Muktarpara Temple in Bangladesh.

“Those Hindus who oppose #CAA and #NRC in India must answer now...just see if tomorrow this persecuted Devotee comes To India has refugee will we deny them to accept? Now tell me What did this Devotees did to this Mu$|_ims ? (sic),” the claim reads.

The same message has also been shared on Facebook by several other users with the video.

TRUE OR FALSE?

The claim along with the pictures and video is false.

We got in touch with the management of ISKCON and the police in Bangladesh who denied the communal narrative woven around this story and said that the incident was actually a property dispute between the management of ISKCON and a family who has been living inside the temple compound for three generations.

Speaking to The Quint, Jagat Guru Das, Joint Secretary of ISKCON Temple in Bangladesh said that the fight ensued because the temple had won a legal case to occupy the land in 2015, which had upset people in the area.

“There is no communal angle to this. Both, Hindus and Muslims, were involved in this incident,” Das added.

We also accessed a copy of the complaint filed by the the management of ISKCON Temple which detailed the incident and named the people against whom they filed a complaint.

The names mentioned in the report are: Shanta Sarkar, Chhaya Sarkar, Rupan Chauhan, Rajan Chauhan, Mohd Paras, Himel Miya, Sharif Ahwal, Biswa Sarkar, Tapas Sarkar, Ujjal Sarkar.

‘ILLEGAL OCCUPATION BY A FAMILY LED TO THE FIGHT’

According to this complaint, the temple had occupied the land after winning a legal battle in 2015, but a family was encroaching upon their land and staying inside a room in the temple.

The temple authorities had purportedly objected when this family had started some construction/renovation work in that area which snowballed into a fight.

Speaking to The Quint, the Bangladesh national in charge of ISKCON said that the matter has been settled now and that there is peace in the area. He too clarified that the information circulated through the viral post is incorrect.

We also got in touch with the Additional Superintendent of Police of Netrokona Model Police Station who told us that the police had taken cognisance of the matter and taken action. However, no arrests have been made in the case.

He also added that as per their findings, the land (due to which the dispute erupted) didn’t even belong to ISKCON.

“We aren’t convinced with the papers that ISKCON has shown us but the Mayor of the area has also looked into the case and we are investigating the matter,” he said.

“The situation is under control and we are speaking with all parties,” he added.

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