Easing an earlier ban on serving guests from Bangladesh, the All Tripura Hotel and Restaurant Owners’ Association on Thursday announced that its members would provide accommodation and services to those holding medical visas, The Hindu reported.

The association, which describes itself as a unified platform for hotel and restaurant owners in the state, also refuted allegations of “misbehaviour” with guests from Bangladesh.

On Monday, Saikat Bandyopadhyay, the general secretary of the association, said that its members would not serve guests from Bangladesh to protest the alleged insult to the Indian flag there.

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The announcement came days after images were widely shared on social media purportedly showing the Indian flag being stepped on by students at the entrance of the Bangladesh University of Engineering in Dhaka.

On November 29, a Kolkata hospital also said that it would not provide medical treatment to Bangladeshi patients because of alleged insults to the Indian flag “in various places” in the neighbouring country.

“We are a secular country and have respect for all religions,” Bandyopadhyay said on Monday. “Our national flag has been desecrated and minorities are facing oppression by a section of fundamentalists in Bangladesh. Earlier too such incidents used to take place but now it has crossed the limit.”

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He said that the prevailing situation in Bangladesh was worrisome. “We condemn the treatment meted out to minorities in Bangladesh,” he added.

Following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in August, several parts of Bangladesh reported incidents of violence against religious minorities.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in August urged Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, to ensure the safety of Hindus and other minorities. Yunus had claimed at the time that reports of attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh had been exaggerated.