Prominent civil society members staged a protest in the capital on Monday, demanding speedy and exemplary punishment for the perpetrators of communal attacks in Bangladesh. The protest came in the wake of a series of attacks on the minority Hindus during Durga Puja celebrations.  Under the aegis of Sampriti Bangladesh, a citizens’ platform promoting secularism, a large crowd gathered at Central Shaheed Minar on Monday afternoon and placed a seven-point demand for maintaining religious harmony in the country. Read:Communal violence: Protesters stage demo at Shahbagh Holding placards and banners, the civil society activists demanded the necessary steps for the "complete eradication of fundamentalism" from the country. In fact, a total of 89 non-communal and pro-liberation organisations expressed solidarity with the protesters, Sampriti said.

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson and Deputy High Commissioner Javed Patel have attended the Durga Puja celebrations in Mirzapur, Tangail.