seven-arrested-over-lynching-of-hindu-man-in-bangladesh

Seven individuals have been arrested in connection with the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh, the interim government announced on Saturday.

 

Dipu Chandra Das, 25, was attacked and killed by a mob in Mymensingh city on Thursday over alleged blasphemy, after which his body was set ablaze.

 

In a statement on X, the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested seven suspects during operations conducted at multiple locations. The ages of those detained range from 19 to 46.

 

Police said Das, a factory worker, was first assaulted outside his workplace before being hanged from a tree. The mob later abandoned his body along the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and set it on fire. His body was recovered and sent to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.

 

The interim government condemned the lynching, stating that there was no room for such violence in the country and pledging that those responsible would face strict action. “The perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared,” the statement added.

 

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The incident comes amid a series of attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh following the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year, raising concerns about the safety of Hindu citizens in the country.

 

Separately, Bangladesh observed a day of state mourning for Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent youth leader and spokesperson of 'Inqilab Mancha', who was shot in the head by masked gunmen on December 12 during his election campaign in Dhaka. Hadi, 32, died while undergoing treatment in Singapore on Thursday. His funeral on Saturday drew a large crowd in the capital under heightened security. Interim government Chief Adviser Yunus, his advisory council members, and Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman attended the janaza at the South Plaza of Parliament complex, alongside politicians from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the National Citizen Party. Politicians from the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and the student-led National Citizen Party also joined the prayers.

 

The death of Hadi, a candidate for the February 12 general elections, had earlier triggered unrest across the country, highlighting ongoing political tensions.