DHAKA: Bangladesh has strongly rejected an Indian press note over a protest outside its High Commission in New Delhi, raising serious concerns about how demonstrators were able to access a highly secured diplomatic zone and questioning the adequacy of security provided by the host country.
“Regarding the Indian press note, we completely reject it, entirely reject it,” foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain told reporters at the foreign ministry, reports The Bangladesh Today.
“The issue has been presented as if it were very simple, whereas in reality it is not. Our mission is located deep inside the diplomatic area, not at the periphery,” the newspaper quoted Hussain as saying.
Hossain said the Indian account of the incident had oversimplified a serious matter. He questioned how a group of around 25 to 30 individuals, identified as belonging to a Hindu extremist organisation, was able to reach such a sensitive zone.
He said that under normal circumstances, access to the area should not have been possible without official permission or a breakdown in established security protocols.
“They (India) say it may have been 20–25 people, but that is not the point. The question is how a group of 25 or 30 people from a Hindu extremist organisation could come so far into a sanitized, secured area. Under normal circumstances, they should not have been able to reach there at all.”
He added that the demonstrators did more than raise slogans over the killing of a Hindu citizen in Bangladesh, and rejected claims that Bangladeshi media reports on the incident were misleading. While noting that there was no concrete proof of death threats against the Bangladeshi envoy, he said reports suggested threats were heard, which further underscored the seriousness of the lapse.
Referring to international diplomatic norms, Hossain said protest groups are typically required to notify authorities in advance and are stopped at a distance by police, sometimes allowing only limited representation.
“What happened here, we do not accept,” he said, adding that Bangladesh believes standard security procedures were not properly followed.
He said Dhaka had conveyed its concerns to Indian authorities and hoped such an incident would not be repeated. While Bangladesh continues to trust India to ensure the safety of its diplomats, he warned that Dhaka could reconsider the scale of its diplomatic presence if the situation were to deteriorate.
The adviser also rejected attempts to link the killing of a Bangladeshi citizen with minority security, saying the government had acted swiftly and made arrests. He said the protection of diplomatic missions and personnel is the responsibility of the host country under international law.
The protest took place around 9:00 pm local time on Saturday outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, where activists under the banner of Akhand Hindu Rashtra Sena staged a demonstration.
