STAFF CORRESPONDENT

At least 42 incidents of communal violence, including 11 killings and one rape, were reported across the country in January, raising concerns about the safety of religious and ethnic minorities ahead of the upcoming national election, said Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad yesterday.

The incidents, recorded up to January 27, also included nine attacks on temples and churches, and 21 cases of attacks, looting, land grabbing, and vandalism of minority homes and businesses, the organisation said at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club.

In a written statement, the organisation’s acting general secretary Monindra Kumar Nath said the organisation documented a total of 522 incidents nationwide over the last year.

These included 61 killings; 28 incidents of violence against women, including rape and gang rape; 95 attacks on places of worship involving vandalism, looting, and arson; 102 attacks on homes and business establishments; 38 cases of abduction, extortion, and torture; 47 incidents of threats and physical assaults; 36 arrests and torture on allegations of religious blasphemy; and 66 cases of forcible occupation of land, homes, and businesses.

He said members of minority communities It

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