‘They couldn’t accept calling Hindu man sir’: Family of lynched Bangladeshi factory worker says promotion triggered false blasphemy charge

DEHRADUN: A fortnight after the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das — a 28-year-old Hindu garment factory worker who was beaten and burnt alive on accusations of blasphemy — in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district, his family has now said that the real trigger was his promotion at work. Speaking to TOI from Bangladesh, they alleged that a few colleagues, unable to accept that a man of another faith, had been promoted over them, manufactured the charge after failing the same in-house exam that Dipu cleared to become 'in-charge'.

“They simply raised an objection citing his religion,” said Baburam Das, Dipu’s father-in-law. “They couldn’t accept the fact that they had to call him ‘Sir’ in the factory. On the day of the incident, they entered into a verbal altercation with him over religion. Then they accused him of blasphemy, beat him near the factory gate and handed him over to an incited mob waiting outside to kill him.”




Dipu had recently cleared the promotion exam, ahead of several others who took it, and had been elevated from supervisor to in-charge — a designation change that sparked resentment. His family insists the backlash was not about anything he had said or done but rather about what he had achieved, and who he was. “Those raising objections also sat the exam but didn’t pass,” said Baburam. “My son-in-law got the job on merit. They couldn’t tolerate it and ended up committing this inhumane, heinous act. Two families have been devastated.”

Dipu’s brother, Apu Chandra Das, also confirmed the family's version, saying he had heard similar accounts from his co-workers. “What we know is that he was falsely accused of blasphemy and murdered,” he said. “He was a calm, friendly person who respected all religions equally. It's devastating that his colleagues, angry over a promotion, chose to take revenge in such a horrific way.”

Apu filed a complaint on Dec 19, following which the local police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Bangladesh’s elite counter-terror unit, launched an investigation. Around 20 people have been arrested so far, though the FIR named approximately 150 unidentified individuals as part of the mob. The RAB, in an official statement, said no post or act by Dipu indicating blasphemy had been found on social media — the original accusation made by the attackers.

Dipu’s father, Robi Lal Das, told TOI that Bangladesh's govt has extended some support. “We’re receiving Rs 25,000 a month and 5kg of dry ration,” he said. “They’ve also promised a govt job to Dipu’s wife. But now that our son is gone, all we want is justice. He was falsely accused. That is the only truth.”

His daughter, now widowed, wears white. Their one-year-old child, Baburam said, keeps looking around for her father. “Her eyes still search for someone who will never return. How do we explain to her what happened? All her happiness has been snatched away. My daughter is left alone to raise a child in mourning,” he said. “I just hope justice is served so that no other Hindu family in this country has to go through what we have.”