Ifty Azad alias ‘Sickmad’, a well-known face of the Bangladesh gaming and esports community, has strongly condemned the vandalism and desecration during protests at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission office in Agartala, Tripura. He also called on the Indian Prime Minister and the Ministry of External Affairs to take immediate action.
In a post on his verified Instagram, Ifty Azad said, “If our High Commission fails to protect us, please inform us.” The incident has created diplomatic tension between Bangladesh and India.
Earlier, a group of Hindu extremists allegedly attacked the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala following a rally held protesting against what the demonstrators said the oppression of Bangladeshi Hindus and the arrest of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a former leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
In a media statement on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India said, “The incident earlier today of the breach of premises at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala is deeply regrettable. Diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted under any circumstances.”
The Indian government is taking action to step up security arrangements for the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and their Deputy/Assistant High Commissions in the country, it added.
Meanwhile, the government of Bangladesh on Monday said it “deeply resents” the “violent demonstration and attack” by a large group of protesters of the Hindu Sangharsh Samity of Agartala on the premises of the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, underlined that this “heinous attack” on a diplomatic mission of Bangladesh and desecration of the national flag of Bangladesh comes in a pattern, further to a similar violent demonstration in Kolkata on 28 November 2024.
“This particular act in Agartala stands in violation of the inviolability of diplomatic missions, as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, asks for,” the ministry said.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
