“It seems that atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh are continuing unabated. Today, in the wee hours, our centre and temple were burnt down. We are deeply pained,” Radharamn Das, vice-president of ISKCON, Kolkata, and spokesperson, told mediapersons.

Das said the alleged arson and vandalism took place between 2 and 3 am on Saturday.

“Another ISKCON Namhatta Centre burned down in Bangladesh. The Deities of Sri Sri Laxmi Narayan and all items inside the temple, were burned down completely. The centre is located in Dhaka,” Radharamn Das wrote in a post on X.

“Early morning today, between 2 and 3 AM, miscreants set fire to the Shri Shri Radha Krishna Temple and the Shri Shri Mahabhagya Lakshmi Narayan Temple, which fall under the Hare Krishna Namhatta Sangha, located in Dhour village, under then jurisdiction of Turag Police Station, Dhaka district. The fire was initiated by lifting the tin roof at the back of the temple and using petrol or octane,” Das claimed in his post.

Protests have broken out in West Bengal and other parts of India over the arrest of ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Dhaka last month. Das, who was accused of treason, had been leading protests against alleged atrocities on minorities in Bangladesh.

ISKCON had claimed earlier that many of its centres and temples were being forcibly shut down in Bangladesh. Das had also urged devotees and monks in the neighbouring country to be discreet and not wear tilak or saffron garb in public.

The issue was also raised in the Lok Sabha, with BJP members urging the government to ensure the safety of Hindus and ISKCON followers in Bangladesh.

A private hospital and some doctors in West Bengal had announced that they would not treat Bangladeshi patients, while some hotels in Malda have also barred guests from the neighbouring country.