New Delhi: Bangladesh has suspended all consular services, including the issuance of visas, at its missions in New Delhi and Agartala, citing the security situation, as protests targeting Bangladeshi diplomatic facilities were reported in two cities in West Bengal.A notice pasted at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi said that all consular and visa services “have been temporarily suspended until further notice”. A similar notice was also put up at the Assistant High Commission in Agartala.The decision came against the backdrop of protests held outside Bangladesh’s diplomatic and visa facilities in Kolkata and Siliguri by the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party and Hindutva groups.On the night of December 20, a group of 20–25 members of Hindu organisations staged a protest outside the High Commission in New Delhi, triggering a diplomatic exchange and further straining ties between the two capitals.India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on December 21, “There was no attempt to breach the fence or create a security situation at any time”, adding that police dispersed the group within minutes and that “visual evidence of these events is available publicly for all to see”.He said the slogans were raised “in protest against the horrendous killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh, while also calling for the protection of all minorities in Bangladesh”.Bangladesh’s foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain, however, questioned how protesters were able to enter what he described as a secure diplomatic zone.On December 22, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindu groups marched through Siliguri and held a demonstration at the Bangladesh visa office over the killing of Dipu Das. According to Siliguri Times, a five-member delegation of the protesters entered the visa office, held discussions with officials, and requested that the office remain closed as a mark of protest.In Kolkata, PTI reported, BJP and the Congress held separate demonstrations outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission over the killing.BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari threatened to block roads across West Bengal on December 24 and said he would return to protest outside the mission with 10,000 people on December 26 if the attacks did not stop.India had earlier shut the Indian Visa Application Centre in Dhaka last week following a call for a march over the death of Bangladeshi youth leader Osman Sharif Hadi. The centre reopened a day later.The IVAC in Chattogram remains temporarily closed after a mob attack at the entrance of the Assistant High Commission of India on the night of December 18-19, when stone pelting and threats to break the entrance raised serious security concerns for the mission and officials residing on the premises.