Hindu man set on fire in Bangladesh dies in hospital amid rise in attacks on minorities

This marks the third such targeted attack in Bangladesh in recent weeks, raising concerns about escalating communal violence in the country.

Representational image. | Protesters gather in Dhaka after India summoned Bangladeshi High Commissioner over a threat to Indian missions in the country. | PTI File Photo

New Delhi: A 50-year-old Bangladeshi Hindu businessman died Saturday from severe burns sustained after being set on fire by assailants in Dhaka’s Shariatpur district, marking the third attack on minorities in Bangladesh in recent weeks.

Khokhon Chandra Das, a chemist and local banking agent in Damudya upazila, was returning home after closing his shop on the night of 31 December when some assailants attacked his rickshaw. The attackers beat him before pouring petrol on him and setting him ablaze.

To save his life, Das jumped into a nearby pond. Locals who had gathered at the scene later took him to a Dhaka hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries Saturday morning.

Before his death, Das identified his attackers as Sohag Khan (27) and Rabbi Molya (21), along with Palash Sardar (25), son of local Shaheed Sardar, according to daily Prothom Alo.

Previous attacks on Hindus

Bangladesh has witnessed a string of attacks on minorities in recent weeks.

On 24 December, Amit Mondal was beaten to death by a mob in the Rajbari district over allegations of extortion, local reports said. But the Bangladesh administration denied it was a communal attack.

In another incident approximately a week before that, Dipu Chandra Das was lynched by a mob and set on fire over allegations of blasphemy in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka Upazila as violence erupted in the country following student leader Osman Hadi’s killing.

Ties between India and Bangladesh have been terse since last year, after the government led by Sheikh Hasina was ousted in the aftermath of widespread protests. The interim administration, led by Nobel laureate Yunus Mohammad, has repeatedly written to New Delhi to extradite Hasina, who took refuge in India after her government’s fall.

Student leader Hadi’s death ahead of national polls announced in Bangladesh further strained ties, with some within the neighbouring country suggesting that New Delhi was behind the killing. India has sharply denied this claim, and expressed concerns about the safety of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.