A Hindu man accused of extortion was beaten to death by a mob in Bangladesh’s Rajbari district late Wednesday night, marking yet another case of vigilante violence targeting minorities and raising serious questions about law and order in the country.
Quoting police officials, The Daily Star reported, “The incident occurred around 11 pm when villagers attacked the man after alleging him of extortion. The victim suffered critical injuries by the time police reached the spot.”
The deceased was identified as Amrit Mondal, also known as Samrat, a resident of the same village. Assistant Superintendent of Police Debrata Sarkar of Pangsha Circle said that following the information, officers rushed to the area. Mondal was taken to Pangsha Upazila Health Complex where the attending doctors declared him dead around 2 am.
The police said Mandal was locally known as the leader of a group called “Samrat Bahini.” He was a son of Akshay Mandal and resided at Hosaindanga village.
The officer-in-charge of Pangsha Model Police Station, Sheikh Moinul Islam, stated that there were at least two cases against Mandal registered in the police station, including one for murder.
Locals told The Daily Star that Mandal had been leading a criminal gang and was involved in extortion and other criminal activities for years. They said he had been hiding in India for a long period of time and recently came back to the village and demanded extortion money from Shahidul Islam, another resident of the village.
The killing has added to mounting concerns over mob justice in Bangladesh, where minorities have increasingly found themselves at the receiving end of violence amid political uncertainty and weak enforcement of the law.
The Rajbari incident comes only days after the gruesome lynching of one 27-year-old Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment factory worker, in Bhaluka of the Mymensingh district. Das was attacked by a mob over unverified allegations of blasphemy.
In that case, Das was reportedly beaten by the mob, then tied and later set on fire when he fell unconscious. Videos of the killing went viral on social media, sparking outrage in India and bringing global attention to a sharp decline in minority safety in Bangladesh.
While the killing of Das came amidst widespread condemnation, the incident highlighted how authorities continue to fail in taking concrete steps to prevent incidents of mob violence or acting in swift time to protect vulnerable communities.
The back-to-back lynching incidents have heightened pressure on the interim government. India has raised concerns time and again on attacks against Hindu minorities, as well as the lack of adequate protection being given to them. New Delhi has called in Bangladesh’s high commissioner twice in a week to voice serious diplomatic concern over what’s unfolding on the ground.
While Bangladeshi officials have issued public statements condemning the violence, such assurances have done little to reassure minority communities who say fear has become part of daily life. Bangladesh has plunged into unrest for a second time in two years after the death of anti-India activist Sharif Osman Hadi, shot by unidentified men during a public event days ago. The murder triggered violent protests across parts of the country as vandals and arsonists took to the streets. Demonstration blamed India for the attack, calling it an “Indian hand” in Hadi’s murder.
