7 Arrested Over Lynching of Hindu Man in Bangladesh, Says Yunus Government

Bangladesh authorities have arrested seven people in connection with the lynching of a Hindu man accused of blasphemy, interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said on Saturday, as outrage grows over mob violence and minority safety in the country.

The arrests were carried out by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old garment factory worker from Valuka in the Mymensingh district. Authorities said Das was beaten to death by a mob following allegations that he made derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad.

In a statement shared on X, Yunus confirmed that seven suspects had been taken into custody during operations conducted by RAB-14 across multiple locations. He said the government was committed to ensuring that those responsible for the killing are brought to justice.

The lynching occurred on Thursday night when a mob attacked Das around 9 pm. According to officials, he was brutally beaten, his body tied to a tree and later set on fire. Police arrived at the scene after the violence and recovered the body once the situation was brought under control.

The Yunus-led interim government had earlier condemned the killing, stating that mob violence has no place in what it termed a “New Bangladesh.” Authorities assured that no individual involved in the incident would be spared under the law.

The lynching took place amid widespread unrest across Bangladesh following the death of radical political activist Sharif Osman Hadi, who succumbed to gunshot injuries while undergoing treatment in Singapore. Hadi, a candidate for the February 12 general elections, was shot in Dhaka by unidentified assailants last week, triggering protests and violent demonstrations nationwide.

The killing of Dipu Das has also sparked reactions in India. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal unit condemned the incident, raising concerns about the safety of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and drawing political parallels with incidents of communal violence in the Indian state.

Human rights groups and minority organisations have called for swift prosecution and stronger safeguards to prevent further incidents, warning that unchecked mob violence threatens social stability and communal harmony in the region.