Dhaka: Hindus in Bangladesh are in shock
following the suspension of worship at the capital`s
Dhakeshwari National Temple, the most important place of
worship for the minority community in the country, after a
theft on Sunday.
Gold and silver ornaments and Taka 4.5 lakh have been
stolen from the temple, said Tapan Bhattacharya, the in-charge
of the state-owned Dhakeshwari Temple.
Worship at the ancient Dhakeswari National Temple has
been suspended for an indefinite period following the theft,
the private bdnews24 online reported today.
Known as the `National Temple`, Dhakeshwari means
"Goddess of Dhaka".
Babul Devnath, the Secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan
Worship Committee, expressed deep concern over the incident as
it was the third major temple where theft has taken place in
less than a month. The Hindus in the country are in shock.
"A theft took place at Baradeswari Kali Temple on
December 12 and another at Jaykali Temple on December 22. We
demand proper investigations into all these incidents," he was
quoted as saying in the report.
Bhattacharya said Ratan Chakrawarty and Nitya Gopal
Chakrawarty, the priets at Dhakeswari, had locked the temple
around 9 p.m. on Saturday.
Around 6 a.m. today they found three of the four locks
missing, while the remaining one was broken.
Mohammad Khurshid Alam, the Deputy Commissioner of
Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said they had launched a probe into
the theft.
Hinduism is the second largest religion in the
country, constituting nearly 10 per cent of the population.
There are over 12 lakh Hindus in Bangladesh.
PTI
