Kolkata: A hospital in Manicktala area of Kolkata has refused to treat patients coming in from Bangladesh citing insult to the Indian flag over atrocities on Hindu minorities and attacks on temples in the neighbouring country amid protests over the arrest of former ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das on sedition charges.
The JN Ray Hospital in north Kolkata said the decision to turn away Bangladeshi patients was taken in view of incidents of insulting the Indian Tricolour by Bangladeshi nationals. The hospital has issued a notification stating from Saturday onwards, no patients from Bangladesh will be admitted until further notice.
“This is primarily because of the insults they have shown towards India,” hospital official Subhranshu Bhakt was quoted as saying by PTI.
He also urged other hospitals in the West Bengal capital to follow suit in protest against atrocities meted out to Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.
“India has played an important role in their independence but despite that, we are witnessing anti-India sentiments. We hope other hospitals will support us and take similar steps,” Bhakt said.
Temples under attack in Bangladesh
This comes in the wake of an ongoing row between India and Bangladesh over attacks on Hindu temples and the minority community in Bangladesh under the Mohhamad Yunus’ interim government including the arrest and jailing of spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das.
On Friday, a mob shouting slogans vandalised three Hindu temples in Chattogram amid ongoing protests and violence. The attack occurred around 2:30 pm in Harish Chandra Munsef Lane, targeting the Shantaneshwari Matri Temple, the nearby Shoni Temple, and the Shantaneshwari Kalibari Temple by a mob shouting anti-Hindu, anti-ISKCON slogans following the Friday prayers, according to BDNews24.com.
Kotwali Police Station chief Abdul Karim confirmed the attack, stating that the assailants attempted to damage the temples. However, police reported that the damage was minimal following a confrontation between the two groups, during which both sides threw brickbats at each other.
The recent anti-Hindu incidents have triggered a row between New Delhi and Dhaka with the Indian government on Friday calling upon the Bangladesh interim government to fulfil its responsibility of protecting all minorities, as it expressed serious concern over the “surge” in extremist rhetoric and the rising incidents of violence against Hindus.
