Dhaka : Death threat to Hindu monk of Ramakrishna Mission by ‘self claimed’ IS follower

Dhaka : A Hindu monk at Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission has received a death threat from perpetrators claiming to be followers of militant group Islamic State. Ramakrishna Mission  is a Vedantic monastic order established by Cyclonic Hindu Monk of India, Swami Vivekananda.

The threat came in the form of a letter on Wednesday evening following murders across the country in recent suspected militant attacks. The threat letter was mailed to Swami Sevananda Ji, at his Dkaha RKM Ashram. The Swami is functioning as Assistant Secretary of the unit.

The Hindu monk said he was ordered by the sender of the letter not to preach his religion through Ramakrishna Mission in an Islamic state like Bangladesh. Otherwise he and others in the monastery would be hacked to death with machetes within 20-30 June.

He filed a General Diary (GD) at Wari Police Station around 9pm after receiving in the letter, Sub-Inspector Monir Ahmed told a Dhaka based news paper. Some police contingents were also deployed around the Mission seeing this security issue.

He said one ‘AB Siddique’ apparently sent the letter from Gazipur, Kishoreganj and Dhaka’s Dhanmondi” as it were written on the envelope as both his address.

‘Islamic State of Bangladesh, Chandna intersection, Eidgah Market, Gazipur Municipality’ was the text of the letter-head as typed using a computer.

Ahmed said, “The priest was told in the letter, ‘Bangladesh is an Islamic state, you can’t preach your religion here. If you continuing preaching, you’ll be hacked to death with machetes between the 20th and 30th’.”

The letter didn’t mention any month. He said security was beefed up at Ramakrishna Mission after the GD. Top police officials also visit the temple.

Though international militant outfits Islamic State and al Qaeda claimed responsibilities of murders of several Hindu priests in different areas in the country, the government says these groups are not active in Bangladesh.

Incidentally, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina both visited Dhaka Ramakrishna Mission several times.

Death threat by Islamist to BD Ramakrishna Mission branches are nothing new. But, monks of RK Mission, the believers of- “I am the mother of both honest and dishonest”, as  told by the Holy Mother, Sarada Devi, the Sangha Janani (Mother of the RK Mission order), think otherwise. They may appreciate and welcome the current death threat to a senior monk of Dhaka RK Mission. Earlier, Swami Parimuktanandaji, the monk-in-charge of Baliati Ramkrishna Mission Sevashram in Manikgang got the death threat from Ansarullah Bangla Team in January 2016. Ansarullah Bahini is also believed as an operative of IS in Bangladesh.

Source : Hindu Existence