Police in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka were forced to fire tear gas to disperse hundreds of Muslims demonstrating on Friday against the alleged desecration of a Koran at a Hindu festival.
The alleged incident in the city of Cumilla in eastern Bangladesh earlier this week had already prompted violent riots that left four people in the South Asian country dead.
By Friday the protests had reached Dhaka, beginning in the city centre after Friday prayers. The crowd, chanting "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) and demanding the punishment of those who had allegedly desecrated the Muslim holy book, were met by a large number of armed riot police drafted in to defend businesses.
At one stage, some of the nearly 4,000 protesters clashed violently with riot police, according to a witness. The authorities responded with tear gas and used water cannon to disperse the crowd, according to police officer Abdul Ahad, who estimated the number of protesters at under 1,000. Four demonstrators were arrested at the scene, he added.
Violence first erupted on Wednesday night after police tried to stop an angry mob of Muslims from attacking Hindu temples in the city of Cumilla in Bangladesh's Chandpur district. Four people died in the clashes.
The alleged incident, which took place at a venue where Hindus were celebrating the religious festival of Durga Puja in the town, involved the placement of a Koran on the knee of the Hindu god Hanuman.
The festival organizers removed it as soon as they were made aware of its presence, but an image of it rapidly went viral, quickly whipping up fury among local Muslims and reviving long-standing tensions between the two religious groups.
