Nimay Haldar (name changed), who came to India on a student visa and graduated in engineering from a college in Maharashtra, currently works in Dhaka, while his aged parents live in Chittagong, 250 km away. Last week, they received multiple threat calls to cough up protection money running into several lakhs or quit Bangladesh.
“My parents live in a colony in the Bangladesh port city, where other Hindus too reside.Houses of minorities were identified, and owners received ransom calls of 5 lakh taka. ‘Quit the country or face death, if you can’t pay protection money,’ the caller said in a stern voice, identifying himself as a member of an Islamist group. We were told to keep the money ready. Others in the locality too received similar calls,” said Haldar.
“I moved to Dhaka after getting a job here, but my parents and relatives stay in their native Chittagong. Mob is killing and looting the homes of Hindus in rural Bangladesh, but those residing in cities are safer. The ransom calls have left us shocked and worried,” said Haldar. The callers say Bangladesh does not belong to minorities, and if they want to live here, they need to pay protection money, he said.
No one has turned up yet to collect the ransom, but minorities are scared as their phone numbers were tracked down by the callers, said Haldar.
In urban swathes of Bangladesh, minorities can still move in the streets, but the tension is palpable. Hindus, Buddhists and Christians keep a low profile and avoid discussing the political turmoil in public, Haldar said.
He said his situation would have been different had Indian authorities quickly processed his application for a long-term visa (LTV). Haldar stayed in India with his uncle’s family, who migrated during the 1971 war, when minorities were targeted by the Pakistani army and its private militia.
He came to India on a student visa and began studying at an engineering college. After graduation, he applied for a long-term visa, which could have allowed him a longer stay and a job in India. However, the visa came after he left India as his passport was due to expire. “By the time I got the email that LTV had been granted, I was in Bangladesh and overstaying in India without a valid passport could have triggered legal issues,” he said.
“My parents live in a colony in the Bangladesh port city, where other Hindus too reside.Houses of minorities were identified, and owners received ransom calls of 5 lakh taka. ‘Quit the country or face death, if you can’t pay protection money,’ the caller said in a stern voice, identifying himself as a member of an Islamist group. We were told to keep the money ready. Others in the locality too received similar calls,” said Haldar.
“I moved to Dhaka after getting a job here, but my parents and relatives stay in their native Chittagong. Mob is killing and looting the homes of Hindus in rural Bangladesh, but those residing in cities are safer. The ransom calls have left us shocked and worried,” said Haldar. The callers say Bangladesh does not belong to minorities, and if they want to live here, they need to pay protection money, he said.
No one has turned up yet to collect the ransom, but minorities are scared as their phone numbers were tracked down by the callers, said Haldar.
In urban swathes of Bangladesh, minorities can still move in the streets, but the tension is palpable. Hindus, Buddhists and Christians keep a low profile and avoid discussing the political turmoil in public, Haldar said.
He said his situation would have been different had Indian authorities quickly processed his application for a long-term visa (LTV). Haldar stayed in India with his uncle’s family, who migrated during the 1971 war, when minorities were targeted by the Pakistani army and its private militia.
He came to India on a student visa and began studying at an engineering college. After graduation, he applied for a long-term visa, which could have allowed him a longer stay and a job in India. However, the visa came after he left India as his passport was due to expire. “By the time I got the email that LTV had been granted, I was in Bangladesh and overstaying in India without a valid passport could have triggered legal issues,” he said.
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