DHAKA, BANGLADESH, October 9, 2002: Police have detained ten people suspected of vandalizing eight statues of the Hindu goddess Durga at the Shivkarunamoyee Laxmi Narayan Jeu temple in Narayanganj, near the capital city of Dhaka. The temple’s security guard and nine others have been detained on suspicion of vandalizing the statues, police said. Temple authorities said the attack might be linked to a long-running feud with local residents over temple land because on Saturday a court ruled the land belonged to the temple. Ahead of the festival, Bangladesh has detained more than 1,400 people in a security crackdown. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Reaz Rahman said security forces would guard 13,000 places of worship during the festival. “The people and the government of Bangladesh believe in and are deeply committed to communal harmony and equal rights to religious activities of all its citizens,” Rahman said. Many non-Hindus participate in the festivities, and the main prayer day is a national holiday in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country. Nearly 88 per cent of the country’s 130 million people are Muslims, 10 per cent are Hindus and the rest are Buddhists and Christians.
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