Bangladeshi police said on Tuesday that 450 people had been arrested in the Muslim-majority country following attacks against Hindus, which were among the deadliest in over a decade. According to local media, at least six people have been killed as police battled enraged mobs.

On Friday, hundreds of Muslims staged a protest in the southeastern Noakhali area, accusing Hindus of a blasphemous act involving the Koran.

Several Hindu religious sites and homes have been vandalized.

According to a Bangladesh police spokeswoman, authorities have filed 71 complaints in connection with the violence during the Hindu festival of Durga Puja. He noted that investigations were still on following the arrest of 450 alleged criminals.

In Bangladesh, where the constitution defines Islam as the state religion while upholding the principle of secularism, communal tensions have long simmered.

Hindus account for about 10% of the population.

Since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League came to office in 2009, the turmoil has been among the worst in Bangladesh.

"Recent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, fueled by hate speech on social media, are against the Constitution's values and must be stopped," Mia Seppo, the UN's resident coordinator in Bangladesh, tweeted.

Amnesty International, a human rights organization, demanded that the offenders be investigated and punished.