Another Hindu killed in Bangladesh as police officer is burned alive

Dhaka: A student leader involved in the protests against the Sheikh Hasina government in 2024 has claimed responsibility for the killing of a Hindu police officer.

Mahdi Hasan, a leader of Students Against Discrimination (SAD), was seen at a police station saying, "We set Sub-Inspector Santosh on fire."

This incident is the latest in a series of attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh since sittein Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed was forced to flee to India following a students’ uprising against her regime. However, Hasina’s overthrow brought  a host of Islamist groups into prominence which had led to attacks against Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh.

Earlier,  another Hindu man who was reported to be injured by a violent mob on December 31 in Shariatpur district, has died in hospital.

The victim, who has been identified as 30-year-old Khokon Das, was returning home when a violent mob attacked him with sharp weapons and beat him up before setting him on fire. The victim was severely injured in the attack.

What is the situation in Bangladesh?

At least five attacks have been carried out against Hindus in Bangladesh over the past two weeks. Hindus have borne the brunt of attacks by Islamist mobs after Bangladesh was engulfed by widespread following the overthrow of the democratically elected government led by Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina Wajed.

Earlier attacks on Hindus include the mob lynching of 29-year-old Amrit Mondal in the Hossaindanga area of Kalimohar Union in Bangladesh. On December 18, a Hindu youth identified as 25-year-old Dipu Chandra Das, was brutally lynched by a mob over false blasphemy accusations by a Muslim coworker at his factory in Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh. The mob reportedly killed Das before hanging his body from a tree and setting it on fire.

What is the global reaction?

The increasing number of attacks on Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh under the Yunus-led interim government had led to global outrage. Several human rights organisations across the globe have expressed their concerns while the governments of Russia and Canada have also slammed the regime in Dhaka.

How has India reacted?

India had expressed grave concern last week over the situation of religious minorities in Bangladesh -- including Hindus, Christians, and Buddhists – and asserted that it is keeping a close watch on developments in the troubled country.