Visa centres closed in Kolkata, Siliguri amid protests

Bangladesh’s deputy high commission in Kolkata and the Bangladesh visa centre in Siliguri were closed temporarily after several organisations staged protests in front of the facilities.

A responsible official at the Bangladesh deputy high commission in Kolkata confirmed the development on Monday evening, saying the visa centres are operated by a privately owned firm and have been asked to suspend operations temporarily due to security concerns.

Earlier in the day, protesters in both cities burned flex banners bearing the Bangladeshi flag and effigies of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus. In Siliguri, demonstrators also threatened to keep the Bangladesh visa centre closed.

In protest against the killing of garment worker Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh, activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Hindu Jagaran Manch gathered at Baghajatin Park in Siliguri at noon and brought out a procession around 12:00pm. Marching through different city roads, they reached the Bangladesh visa centre, where several protesters tore down a flex banner carrying the Bangladeshi flag and then set fire to it along with an effigy of the chief adviser.

At one point, law enforcement personnel surrounded the visa centre. The centre had already remained closed earlier in the day due to the programmes announced by the two Hindutva groups. Later, a few representatives of the organisations entered the premises with police and spoke to on-duty staff, threatening to keep the visa centre shut until the safety of Hindus and temples in Bangladesh was ensured.

In Kolkata, protests were held in three phases in front of the deputy high commission. Initially, members of an organisation called Nastik Manch attempted to approach the premises around 2:00pm Indian time but were stopped by police. They then staged a protest about 200 metres away and left after submitting a memorandum about half an hour later.

Following this, activists of the Indian National Congress gathered and protested for nearly an hour. A five-member delegation later met officials of the deputy high commission to convey their grievances before leaving. After they dispersed, protesters identifying themselves as Hindu Sanatanis, led by BJP leader and West Bengal Assembly opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, assembled at the site. When police tried to stop them, scuffles broke out. Many among the protesters were Hindu ascetics.

The demonstrators blocked the road at Beckbagan crossing for about an hour and set fire to effigies during the protest.

Protest marches were also held across West Bengal on Sunday in connection with the killing of Dipu Das. Similar demonstrations took place in Delhi and Tripura as well.