Bangladesh: Another Hindu Man Beaten, Set Afire By Islamist Mob

Dhaka: Islamists continue to target religious minorities in Bangladesh with yet another Hindu reported to be injured by a violent mob. The latest in a series of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh took place on December 31 in Shariatpur district.

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 and is reported to be in hospital. 

What is the situation in Bangladesh?

This incident is the fourth attack on Hindus in Bangladesh in 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.

What is the reaction by Bangladesh?

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed India's concern regarding the ongoing violence against Hindus and other minorities in the country.

"We observe that there are systematic attempts to portray isolated incidents of criminal acts as systematic persecution of Hindus and to maliciously use them to spread anti-Bangladesh sentiments in various parts of India. We see a selective and unwarranted bias in certain quarters, where isolated incidents are exaggerated, misrepresented, and publicised in order to incite ordinary Indians against Bangladesh, its diplomatic missions, and other establishments in India," the ministry said in a statement.