The violence in Bangladesh after Hasina's ouster stirs fear within the country's Hindu minority
Ever since Bangladesh's prime minister was forced to step down and fled the country, her supporters and associates have faced retaliatory attacks
KHULNA, Bangladesh (AP) — When a mass uprising forced Bangladesh’s longtime prime minister to step down and flee the country last week, a 65-year-old retired auditor who had worked for her political party feared for his life.
Arobinda Mohalder, who is part of Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, had just learned that a Hindu official working for the Awami League party in the country's Khulna district escaped after an angry mob set his home on fire.
Mohalder and his wife quickly packed clothes and passports as they fled their home to stay with a relative nearby. Later that evening, they found out their home had been torched. The attackers looted everything, including their television, refrigerator and two air conditioners.
Ever since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India, her supporters and associates have faced retaliatory attacks by mobs who have been met by little, if any, resistance from authorities. Members of the country's Hindu minority feel the most vulnerable because they have traditionally backed the Awami League — seen as a secular party in the Muslim-majority nation — and because of a history of violence against them during previous upheavals.
