Escalating Violence Against Minorities in Bangladesh: Another Hindu Man Killed
Tragic Incident in Shariatpur District
Dhaka, January 3: The situation for minorities in Bangladesh continues to worsen as another Hindu man lost his life following a brutal mob attack in the Damudya area of Shariatpur district.
The deceased, Khokon Chandra Das, a local businessman, suffered severe injuries after being assaulted by a group of attackers who subsequently doused him in petrol and set him ablaze earlier this week.
This horrific event took place near Keurbhanga Bazar in the Kaneshwar Union of Damudya on December 31. Khokon succumbed to his injuries while receiving care at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka on Saturday morning.
According to reports from the Damudya Police Station, Khokon Chandra Das was confirmed dead while undergoing treatment in Dhaka. The police are coordinating with local authorities to ensure the body is returned to his family after an autopsy, and efforts are underway to apprehend those responsible for the attack, as stated by Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Rabiul Haque.
Sources from the Damudya police indicated that Khokon operated a medicine and mobile banking business in Keurbhanga Bazar. He was attacked while returning home in a CNG auto rickshaw after closing his shop for the day, when assailants intercepted him, inflicted severe injuries, and then set him on fire.
His nephew, Prant Das, mentioned that Khokon had been hospitalized at the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka since late Thursday night. Unfortunately, his condition worsened early Saturday, leading to his death in the Intensive Care Unit.
Dr. Bidhan Sarkar, head of the burn unit at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, noted that Khokon had initially received treatment for burns covering approximately 30% of his body.
This incident marks the second act of violence against minorities within a week. Earlier, a 40-year-old man named Bajendra Biswas was shot dead by a colleague in Bhaluka upazila of Mymensingh district.
On December 24, reports emerged of another youth, 29-year-old Amrit Mondal, who was allegedly lynched by a mob in the Hossaindanga area of Kalimohar Union.
Additionally, on December 18, 25-year-old Dipu Chandra Das was brutally murdered in a mob lynching incident fueled by false blasphemy allegations from a Muslim coworker at his factory in Bhaluka Upazila, where his body was hung from a tree and subsequently set on fire.