2012 Ramu violence

The 2012 Ramu violence refers to a series of attacks on Buddhist monasteries, shrines, and houses of Buddhist inhabitants in Ramu Upazila in Cox's Bazar District in Bangladesh by local mobs on the midnight past 29 September 2012. The mobs destroyed 12 Buddhist temples and monasteries and 50 houses in reaction to a tagging of an image depicting the desecration of a Quran on the timeline of a fake Facebook account under a Buddhist male name. The actual posting of the photo was not done by the Buddhist who was falsely slandered. The Buddhist was innocent of the accusation. The violence later spread to Ukhia Upazila in Cox's Bazar District and Patiya Upazila in Chittagong District where Buddhist monasteries, Sikh Gurudwaras and Hindu temples were targeted for attacks.

An estimated 25,000 people participated in the violence directed at Buddhists and over 300 people were arrested in connection to the attacks.

An image depicting the desecration of a Quran was posted on the wall of one Uttam Kumar Barua's Facebook profile by an unidentified person using a pseudonym. Coincidentally, Uttam Kumar Barua, a resident of Ramu in Cox's Bazar District and an employee of the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries, happened to be a Buddhist by faith.

Some local residents took offence to the incident and staged processions and demonstrations in Ramu in the afternoon and evening of 29 September.

On 29 September, at around 10 p.m., a procession was held in Ramu in protest of the perceived blasphemous image uploaded to a Facebook account. Newspaper reports stated that local Awami League leaders were initially seen mobilising the mob and emphasising the sentimental religious issue to counter the opposition. The Daily Star, a widely circulated national daily, reported that a motley group comprising local leaders of pro-Awami League organisations, BNP men, madrasa students and common people were allegedly behind the communal violence at Ramu on Saturday night. At a subsequent procession, some people demanded the arrest of Uttam Kumar Barua. At around 11:30 p.m., a third procession marched towards Barua Parha, and some of the Buddhist houses were torched. Subsequently, Buddhist temples, monasteries, and residences were also torched. Ten Buddhist villages were attacked as well with gunpowder, kerosene, and petrol used for the purpose. The arson continued till 3 a.m. 30 September.

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Wikipedia