"Journalist in Dhaka Mobbed for Allegedly Attempting to Make Bangladesh Part of India"

A mob surrounded senior Bangladesh journalist Munni Saha in Dhaka last night, accusing her of spreading false information and "doing everything to make Bangladesh a part of India." As the mob heckled her, Ms. Saha repeatedly said, "This is also my country." Eventually, police arrived and took her into custody.

Reports from Bangladeshi media suggest that Ms. Saha was wanted in connection with a case involving the death of a student during anti-reservation protests in the neighboring country, which led to the ouster of Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Police rescued Ms. Saha from the Kawran Bazar area of Dhaka, where the mob had surrounded her.

Rezaul Karim Mallik, a senior officer of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told The Daily Star, "People handed her over to the police. She suffered a panic attack. We released her considering her health and the fact that she is a woman journalist." Ms. Saha has been instructed to seek bail from the court and comply with future police summons. In a viral video, Ms. Saha is seen surrounded by the mob, with a voice accusing her of misleading people about the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles mutiny, which resulted in 57 deaths. "You are doing everything you can to make this country a part of India. The blood of students is on your hands," the mob tells her, to which she denies.

They continue, "How can you be a citizen of this country and harm it?" Ms. Saha responds, "How have I harmed? This is also my country."

The 55-year-old journalist is the former news head of Bengali channel ATN News. After the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s administration, she and other journalists were charged with crimes against humanity.

This incident comes amid concerns over the treatment of minority Hindus in Bangladesh following the regime change. Last week, Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari was arrested in Dhaka after a Hindu community protest demanding legal protection and a ministry for minority affairs. The priest, formerly associated with ISKCON, faces a sedition charge for allegedly making remarks about the targeting of Hindus. ISKCON has also reported that two other monks, Adipurush Shyam Das and Ranganath Das Brahmachari, were arrested after meeting with Brahmachari. The organization also claims that rioters vandalized an ISKCON center in Bangladesh.

Since the ousting of Hasina, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge. Reports of violence targeting minority Hindus in Bangladesh have been rising in recent months.

In response to the priest's arrest, India expressed concern about the growing "extremist rhetoric, increasing violence, and provocation" in Bangladesh. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that India has repeatedly raised the issue of attacks on Hindus and other minorities with the Bangladeshi government. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal urged Bangladesh's interim government to take measures to protect minorities.