Concern rises on BD mission security: Dhaka rejects Indian account of Delhi protest
Diplomatic Correspondent :
Dhaka has squarely rejected India’s official account of a reported demonstration in front of the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi that took place on Saturday.
Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain said that the incident pointed to serious lapses in diplomatic security and caused fear among Bangladeshi officials and the High Commissioner’s family.
Speaking to reporters at the Foreign Ministry on Sunday, Touhid said Bangladesh “completely rejects” the version presented by the Indian side, which downplayed the incident as a small gathering involving slogans and described Bangladeshi media coverage as misleading.
“The way the India has presented this issue, we completely reject it,” he said. “The matter is not as simple as it has been made out to be. The security procedures have not been followed properly.”
Touhid stressed that the Bangladesh High Commission is located deep inside
a diplomatic zone, not at the outer edge. “This is a sanitised diplomatic area,” he said.
“The question is, how can an extremist group of 20 to 25 people reach that far inside? They have been allowed. They should not have been able to come there at all,” he added.
Referring to standard international practice, he said protests are usually handled in a controlled manner.
“Normally, when a protest group goes to a mission, it is informed in advance and the police keep them at a distance,” Touhid said.
“If any document is to be submitted, only two people are allowed to come forward. This is the norm everywhere, including in Bangladesh.”
On reports that the Bangladesh High Commissioner was threatened, Touhid said he did not have direct proof of a ‘death threat’, but added that such claims could not be dismissed lightly.
“I do not have evidence that the High Commissioner was directly threatened with death,” he said. “But we have heard that such words were used.
The real issue is why anyone was allowed to come so close and create a threatening situation.”
He also rejected attempts to link the protest to minority issues in Bangladesh. “A Bangladeshi citizen was brutally killed,” Touhid said.
“To link this incident with minority security does not make sense.” He noted that Bangladesh had taken immediate action and that several arrests had already been made.
“Such incidents do not happen only in Bangladesh. They happen in all countries in this region, and every country has a responsibility to take appropriate action. Bangladesh has done that.”
Raising concerns over a broader pattern, Touhid recalled previous attacks on Bangladeshi missions in India.
“Earlier, our mission in Agartala was vandalized and burned,” he said. “India could not ensure proper security for our missions at that time either.”
Asked about Bangladesh’s response, Touhid said Dhaka has raised the issue with the Indian side and remains in contact through diplomatic channels.
“We expect that such an environment will not be created again,” he said, adding that discussions were ongoing regarding the format of Bangladesh’s protest.
On the safety of Bangladeshi diplomats, Touhid said Dhaka still expects New Delhi to act responsibly. “We are still relying on India to take appropriate security measures,” he said.
He emphasised that the incident went beyond slogans. “The High Commissioner and his family live there,” Touhid said.
“They felt threatened and panicked. There were only two guards, and they stood by silently. From our point of view, adequate security measures were not followed,” he pointed out.
When asked whether Bangladesh is considering scaling down its mission due to the tensions between Dhaka and Delhi, he replied, “If such an environment arises, we will do that. As of now, what I see is that we are still relying on India to take the proper measures.”
Concluding his remarks, Touhid said his statements reflected the official position of the Bangladesh government.
“What I am saying is the position of the government of Bangladesh,” he said, reiterating that Dhaka finds the incident unacceptable under established diplomatic security norms.
Later in a press release, the Foreign Ministry said, “The unjustifiable incident at the Bangladesh High Commission residence is highly regrettable and cannot be accepted as misleading propaganda.”
Earlier, on Sunday, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to media queries about protests outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.
He said that around 20-25 youth gathered on December 20 to protest the killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh, raising slogans for minority protection in Bangladesh. Jaiswal denied any security breach, stating the police quickly dispersed the group.
Following India’s statement, Dhaka completely rejected it. The bilateral relation between the two countries has been tense amid the evolving situation inside Bangladesh.
Both countries summoned one another’s envoys over security issues.
Meanwhile, Indian Visa Application Centre in Chattogram on Sunday suspended its operations following the recent security situation, Indian Assistant High Commission reports.