Centre Launches Panel to Protect Indians, Minorities in Bangladesh.

New Delhi: The Centre formed a committee to monitor the situation in Bangladesh amidst reports of targeted violence against minorities. The committee would ensure the safety also of Indians and other minorities in the country amid deadly protests that saw the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.

The Government of India has constituted a Committee to monitor the current situation on the Indo-Bangladesh Border. Such a committee shall maintain channels of communication with counterpart authorities in Bangladesh so that Indian citizens and people from minority communities there remain safe.

“The Committee will be headed by ADG, Border Security Force, BSF, Eastern Command and will consist of IG, BSF Frontier HQ South Bengal, IG, BSF Frontier HQ Tripura, Member Planning & Development, Land Ports Authority of India, LPAI, and, Secretary, LPAI, as its members,” it added.

Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as Bangladesh’s interim leader Thursday, pledging to guide the country back to democracy after a student-led uprising ended the 15-year rule of Sheikh Hasina.

Mr Yunus, back in Dhaka from Europe, urged that the South Asian nation, torn by weeks of violence that left at least 455 dead, restore order, asking citizens to protect each other, including minorities targeted in attacks.

“Law and order is our first task. We cannot take a step forward unless we fix the law and order situation,” he said.

The caretaker administration is a civilian team, bar one retired brigadier-general.

“My call to the people is if you have trust in me, then make sure there will be no attacks against anyone, anywhere in the country,” said 84-year-old Mr Yunus.

“Every person is our brother. our task is to protect them,” Mr Yunus said, adding that “the whole of Bangladesh is one big family”.

PM Modi extended his best wishes to Bangladesh’s caretaker leader Muhammad Yunus and urged that Hindus and other minority communities in that country be kept safe.

“My best wishes to Professor Muhammad Yunus on the assumption of his new responsibilities. We hope for an early return to normalcy, ensuring the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities. India remains committed to working with Bangladesh to fulfill the shared aspirations of both our peoples for peace, security, and development,” PM Modi wrote on X.

Shaik Hasina, accused of rampant human rights abuses including the jailing of her political opponents, was forced to flee to neighbouring India on Monday as masses of protesters flooded Dhaka’s streets.

Monday’s events were the culmination of more than a month of unrest which began as protests against a quota plan for government jobs but morphed into an anti-Hasina movement.

The military later accepted student demands that Mr Yunus, who won the Nobel prize in 2006 for his pioneering work on microfinancing head an interim government.