Dhaka: Amid unrest in Bangladesh, minority Hindus continue to face brutal attacks.
On New Year’s eve, Khokon Chandra Das, a 50-year-old Hindu businessman, was attacked by a violent group in Bangladesh’s Shariatpur district. Khokon was grievously injured and later set on fire.
The victim was allegedly on way home on Wednesday night after closing his pharmacy shop when a mob pounced on him with sharp weapons, beat him up ruthlessly and set Khokon ablaze.
Khokan managed to escape by jumping into a nearby pond, but he sustained serious burn injuries and is battling for his life at Shariatpur Sadar Hospital.
This is the fourth attack on the Hindu community in the last fortnight in Bangladesh amid heightened tensions following the murder of anti-India youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Protests in Bangladesh over Hadi’s death have taken a sharply anti-India tone, especially after allegations were made that his killers fled to India – a charge firmly denied by BSF.
The latest incident comes a day after another Bajendra Biswas was shot dead while he was on security duty at a garment factory in Mymensingh. According to local reports, the killer, Noman Mia, asked Biswas, “Do I shoot you?” before pulling the trigger.
Biswas and Mia were members of Ansar Bahini, a paramilitary auxiliary force under Bangladesh’s Home Ministry responsible for community policing. They were deployed as security guards at a factory of Sultana Sweaters Limited on Monday when the incident happened.
Two weeks ago, 25-year-old Hindu youth Dipu Chandra Das was lynched by a mob over false blasphemy accusations by a Muslim co-worker at a factory in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka Upazila.
After killing Dipu, the mob hung his body from a tree before set it on fire.
On December 24, another Hindu man, identified as 29-year-old Amrit Mondal aka Samrat was allegedly lynched by a mob in Rajbari town. The Bangladesh government, while condemning the killing, said it was not a communal attack and that Samrat was accused of extortion.
