Bangladesh summons Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma after breach at mission in Agartala: ‘India must realise…’

Dhaka, Bangladesh: A day after a breach at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala, Dhaka on Tuesday summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma to the Foreign Affairs Ministry office here.

Verma was summoned by acting foreign secretary Reaz Hamidullah, reported PTI, quoting state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).

“He (Verma) has been asked to come,” said Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid.

On Monday, over 50 protesters reportedly entered the premises of the Bangladeshi mission in Agartala, triggering concerns among those present at the complex amid an ongoing row over the arrest of Hindu priest Chinmoy Das and atrocities against Hindus in the neighbouring country.

Meanwhile, terming the vandalism as India's “failure,” an influential adviser in the interim government on Tuesday asked New Delhi to reassess its neighbour afresh.

“We believe in a friendship based on equality and mutual respect. While Sheikh Hasina's government followed a pro-India policy to cling to power without elections, India must realise that this is not Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh,” Law Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul wrote in a Facebook post.

Reacting to the breach, the Ministry of External Affairs said the incident was deeply regrettable.

"Diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted under any circumstances. The 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," the MEA said in a statement.

In another development, the bail hearing of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a Hindu priest accused of sedition in Bangladesh, has been postponed to January 2, 2025, as no lawyers appeared in court on Tuesday.

Swatantra Gauranga Das, an associate of the monk at his Sammilita Sanatani Jagaran Jote, claimed that no lawyer represented the Hindu leader due to threats from a “politically motivated lawyers' group”.

Relations between India and Bangladesh became strained after the interim government, headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, came to power in August after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country.