Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old Hindu youth, was barbarically lynched by a mob in the Bangladeshi city of Mymensingh on Thursday night amid a new wave of violence that has gripped Dhaka following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in massive student protests last year.
A police officer said that after the killing, the mob allegedly dumped the body of the Hindu youth on the side of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and set it on fire, halting traffic on both sides of the road.
Who was the Hindu man?
The victim – Dipu Chandra Das – hailing from the Hindu community, lived in Mymensingh. According to reports, he was employed as a laborer at the Pioneer Knit Composite Factory, a garment factory in the Square Masterbari area of Dhaka.
Dubali is an area of Bhaluka Upazila.
How did the man die?
According to many reports, Dipu Chandra das was beaten to death after being accused of blasphemy.
“At around 9pm on Thursday, an enraged mob caught him and beat him to death, accusing him of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet. They then set the body on fire,” duty officer Mia told BBC Bangla.
According to local and eyewitnesses quoted by Bangladesh’s Bengali news channel Barta Bazar, the allegations quickly spread in the factory and surrounding areas, fueling tensions. Soon after, an enraged mob allegedly attacked Das and brutally beat him up – during which he reportedly died on the spot.
After Dipu’s death, a mob poured kerosene and set fire to the body with dozens of people who reportedly saw the gruesome scene celebrating.
“Then they poured kerosene on him and set him on fire. His burnt body was left outside. They tied the burnt torso and head outside. It was horrible,” NDTV quoted the victim’s father – Ravilal Das.
The interim government condemns the incident; 7 arrested – key points
— In a post on social media on Saturday, Yunus shared that seven suspects had been arrested in connection with the lynching.
— Yunus identified the suspects as “Md Limon Sarkar (19), Md Tarek Hossain, Md Manik Mia (20), Ershad Ali (39), Nijum Uddin (20), Alomgir Hossain (38) and Md Miraj Hossain Akon (46). He added that RAB-14 “conducted operations at various locations and arrested the above suspects”.
– Interim Bangladesh Prime Minister Yunus Shafiqul Alam’s press secretary in a statement on Facebook in Bangla, strongly condemning the killing, said: “There is no place for this kind of violence in New Bangladesh. No one involved in this brutal crime will be spared.”
— The killing of a Hindu comes amid violent protests that have gripped the nation over the assassination attempt on Sharif Osman Hadi. He was a key figure in the student uprisings last year that eventually led to the ouster of Bangladesh’s former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
