Dhaka

Hindu religious organisations and minority rights groups staged a protest in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Monday, condemning the lynching and killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a young Hindu man in Mymensingh, and alleging rising religious extremism, attacks on minorities and administrative inaction in Bangladesh.

The demonstrators linked Das’s killing to what they described as a broader pattern of violence and impunity targeting minority communities. Addressing the gathering, a protestor said Das, who worked in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, was falsely accused of religious defamation before being brutally lynched.

“Under the pretext of religious defamation, he was beaten to death, hung from a tree and set on fire. This incident exposes the growing religious extremism and persecution of minorities in Bangladesh,” the protestor alleged.

Anger was also directed at the authorities, with protestors accusing the administration and political parties of silence over the incident. They claimed that since January, more than 50 people from minority communities had been killed and over 40 cases of religious defamation filed.

Expressing concern over upcoming elections, protestors questioned whether minorities would be able to exercise their voting rights freely and demanded security, justice and accountability.

The protest comes amid renewed unrest in Bangladesh following the killing of activist Sharif Osman Hadi earlier this month, which triggered demonstrations in Dhaka.

Reacting to the developments, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in an email interview with ANI, accused the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government of presiding over growing lawlessness and failing to protect minorities.

“This tragic killing reflects the lawlessness that has multiplied under Yunus. Violence has become the norm,” Hasina said, warning that continued unrest was undermining Bangladesh’s international credibility and straining relations with India.

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Unrest has continued across the country, with reports of protests, vandalism and attacks on media establishments, while the Indian Visa Application Centre in Chittagong temporarily suspended services following a security incident.