the target of religiously charged attacks and acts of vandalism by Muslim individuals after a Facebook post deemed insulting to Islam went viral. The mob targeted a temple, shops, and several homes in the retaliation, adding to a string of religiously motivated attacks against Hindus in the country. No arrests were reported at the scene, despite the clear presence of security forces. Minority religious groups claimed the government failed to adequately punish perpetrators of anti-Hindu violence in October 2021 surrounding Durga Puja. One of the most extensive attacks was the attack on the Comilla Hindu temple. Despite the government’s arrest of multiple individuals for the attack, as of August police had submitted charges in only two of the 12 cases they had filed. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council Comilla District unit’s president Chandan Rai claimed that “unless justice is served, these incidents will be repeated.” As of July, Prothom Alo reported only a handful of charges had been filed because of the violence across the country the previous October, with many investigations continuing. Bangladesh Police Headquarters stated police filed at least 142 cases; the investigation of 105 cases was finished, with 37 cases still under investigation. The estimated 300,000 Urdu-speaking population (known as Biharis, originally Urdu-speaking Muslims that migrated to then East Pakistan before the Bangladesh Liberation War) were formerly stateless, and members from this community stated their requests to obtain passports were often rejected by immigration officers due to their lack of a permanent address. Almost all this population still resided in refugee-like camps established by the International Committee of the Red Cross in the 1970s, when Biharis believed they would return to Pakistan following the 1971 war. The Geneva Camp in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, for example, held an estimated 30,000 residents. In 2008, a High Court ruling that the Bihari community had rights as citizens prompted the international donor community to cease support because the community was technically no longer stateless. While the government provided some basic services, including water and electricity, Biharis reported social and economic discrimination as well as a lack of initiatives integrating them into society, leaving them isolated in crowded camps. In September 2021, some Biharis expressed concern officials would reject their official status as Bangladeshis, expropriate their land, and implement policies to force the Biharis to return to Pakistan. Page 40