Exiled Bangladeshi author and human rights activist Taslima Nasreen on Saturday said that Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old Hindu garment worker who was lynched and burned by a mob in Bangladesh, was "innocent and falsely accused of blasphemy."
Her remarks came after Dipu was lynched to death on December 18 over alleged blasphemy, in the latest case of violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh, amid continued unrest in the country.
Nasreen claimed the attack was sparked by a Muslim co-worker at Dipu’s factory in Bhaluka, Mymensingh district, even though the victim was under police protection at the time.
Sharing a video of Dipu while he was in police custody on X, Nasreen wrote, "Dipu Chandra Das worked at a factory in Bhaluka, Mymensingh. He was a poor labourer. One day, a Muslim coworker wanted to punish him over some trivial matter, so in the middle of a crowd he announced that Dipu had made derogatory remarks about the Prophet. That was enough."
Nasreen said the mob brutally attacked Dipu even after police intervened. "The mob pounced on Dipu like hyenas and began to tear him apart. Eventually the police rescued him and took him into custody, meaning Dipu was under police protection."
She claimed that Dipu maintained his innocence and told police that the allegations were part of a conspiracy by his co-worker. "The police did not go after the coworker. Did the police throw Dipu back to those fanatics or did the mob take Dipu out of the station?" she asked.
Describing the killing, Nasreen added, "They held a full-blown celebration beating Dipu, hanging him, burning him—a jihadist festival."
Nasreen further said that "Dipu Chandra Das was the sole breadwinner of his family. With his earnings, his disabled father, mother, wife, and child survived. What will happen to them now? Who will help the relatives? Who will bring the mad murderers to justice?"
"Dipu’s family doesn’t even have the money to flee to India. The poor have no one. They have no country left, not even a religion left," she added.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said that the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) had arrested seven people in connection with the lynching.
The arrested accused are Md. Limon Sarkar (19), Md. Tarek Hossain (19), Md. Manik Mia (20), Ershad Ali (39), Nijum Uddin (20), Alamgir Hossain (38), and Md. Miraj Hossain Akon (46).
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, the country’s largest minority organisation, strongly condemned the killing. "Yesterday (18 December) around 9.00 pm in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, a group of miscreants brutally beat to death a garment worker named Dipu Chandra Das on allegations of so-called blasphemy. They then hung his body from a tree and set it on fire, provoking actions that undermine communal harmony," the council said.
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government had also condemned the incident, saying there was "no space for such violence in the new Bangladesh." "The perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared," it said.
Police said Dipu was first beaten outside the factory, later hanged from a tree, and his body was set on fire near the Dhaka–Mymensingh highway, bringing traffic to a halt. His body has been sent for autopsy, and authorities said tensions remain in the area.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage, with videos of the attack circulating on social media and renewed concerns over the safety of religious minorities in Bangladesh following recent political upheaval.
Bangladesh have been witnessing a widespread violence after the death of Inqilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman bin Hadi. The unrest and arson were triggered across the neighbouring nation after Hadi, a poll contender for the upcoming elections, succumbed to the injuries he suffered in an assassination attempt on December 12.