Video by Taslima raises concerns over safety of Bangladesh minorities

DHAKA/NEW DELHI: Concerns about the safety of the minorities in Bangladesh under the Mohammad Yunus-led interim govt escalated on Saturday after author Taslima Nasrin posted a video of Dipu Chandra Das, who was lynched on Thursday night, with the police to ask whether they handed over the Hindu worker to the killer mob and it pointed to the infiltration of law-enforcement ranks by jehadis.

Das was attacked by a mob in Bhaluka upazila of Mymensingh. His father alleged that the attackers had doused his son with kerosene and set him on fire. “They left his burnt body outside. It was horrifying,” the grieving father told the media. Dipu’s body was reportedly tied to a tree and set ablaze, while several onlookers were seen recording videos and taking photographs of his burnt head and torso, drawing widespread condemnation.


Taslima, who has been on the hit list of hardliners because of her writings against radicalisation, wrote in her social media post, “...Dipu was falsely accused of blasphemy and abandoned by the police despite initially being taken into custody for protection.

“....Dipu, a poor labourer, was targeted after a dispute with a Muslim co-worker, who publicly accused him of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet, triggering mob violence.” She said police had later intervened and taken Dipu into custody but failed to ensure his safety.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested ten people in connection with the incident, according to the chief adviser’s press wing. The arrested include Md Limon Sarker (19), Md Tarek Hossain (19), Md Manik Mia (20), Ershad Ali (39), Nijum Uddin (20), Alamgir Hossain (38) and Md Miraj Hossain Akon (46). Members of RAB-14 arrested them during operations conducted in different parts of the district.

Dipu worked at a garment factory in Mymensingh. He had denied the allegation of insulting Islam, saying it had been fabricated by an inimical co-worker to settle scores. He had said the same thing to police but was killed nonetheless. “No one from the govt has given us any assurance. No one said anything,” said Dipu’s father, Ravilal Das, adding that he first learned of his son’s death through Facebook.

Highlighting the impact of the gruesome incident on his family, Nasrin said Dipu was its sole breadwinner, supporting his disabled father, mother, wife and child.

The interim govt said it wholeheartedly condemned the lynching of the Hindu man in Mymensingh. “There is no space for such violence in new Bangladesh. The perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared,” it said.