NN Online:
The Chief Adviser’s Press Wing has condemned a report by the Indian news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) about the killing of a Hindu man at a crematorium in Natore, labelling it as “misleading and exaggerated.”
CA press wing on Sunday said this in a statement posted on its verified Facebook page “CA Press Wing Facts.”
It said, “After a man was killed in a possible theft at a crematorium in Natore, Indian news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) described the incident as communal violence without proper verification.”
On Saturday, PTI published the news quoting a video published on the X [formerly Twitter] handle of Kolkata ISKCON spokesperson Radharaman Das. No Bangladeshi authorities, Hindu leaders, or relatives of the victims were quoted in this news.
Many Indian media, including Hindustan Times and The Indian Express, published the PTI item.
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Bangladesh Executive Committee Member Hrishikesh Gauranga Das said, “It is not responsible to pass off an incident as a communal murder without verifying it. Such exaggerated news can damage communal harmony in Bangladesh.”
Confirming that Tarun Kumar was not a member of ISKCON, he urged the media to collect information at the local level or through official channels before publishing any such news.
On Saturday, Police recovered the body of a man named Tarun Kumar Das, 60, from the Bara Harishpur cremation ground under Sadar Police Station in Natore district.
Initially, it is suspected that the killer strangled the victim to death as he screamed when unidentified thieves were carrying out the burglary at the Bhogghar inside the cremation ground.
Police said some bronze plates were stolen from the crematorium.
According to a local Hindu community leader, the victim was mentally ill for a long time and had been staying at the crematorium for several days, the statement read.
Natore Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Mahbubor Rahman said, “Based on the information we received from Saturday to Sunday morning, it is initially believed that some drug addicts tried to steal the bronze plates. All possible motives for the murder are being investigated.”
Natore Cremation Committee General Secretary Satya Narayan Roy Tipu said, “Tarun Kumar is not a member of the cremation committee, and he was not a priest. He was a bit mentally unstable.
“Tarun Kumar was not a member of ISKCON or any other organisation. We do not think there is any communal involvement in this incident.”
