Cumilla incident took place as a distraction: Mirza Fakhrul 

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday said the incident in Cumilla took place to divert people's attention.

"There are many problems in the country. The incident in Cumilla has been perpetrated (by a vested quarter) to divert the public's attention. We demand immediate exemplary punishment for those involved in the incident," he said. 

Mirza Fakhrul made the allegation at a discussion marking the 11th founding anniversary of the Jatiyatabadi Samabay Dal at the Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium.

Three people were reportedly killed and several others injured after clashes erupted in Chandpur following the tensions triggered by the alleged desecration of the Holy Quran in Cumilla. 

In a bid to maintain law and order, local authorities imposed Section 144 prohibiting any kind of public gathering soon after the incidents.

A press note was issued by the Press Information Department addressing the incident on Wednesday. 

It said, "The news of demeaning the holy Quran in Cumilla has come to the notice of the government and it is being investigated." 

Meanwhile, State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan, in an emergency announcement, said, "Don't take law into your own hands. Everyone should maintain religious harmony and peace."

"Anyone involved in destroying religious harmony [in the country] must be brought under the ambit of law and arrangements be made to give proper punishment," the state minister added.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) troopers have been deployed in 22 districts across the country to maintain law and order on Thursday.