A 50-year-old Hindu man was allegedly set on fire on December 31 in Shariatpur district in Bangladesh, the fourth attack on minorities in two weeks in the neighbouring country.
Khokon Chandra, a medical shop owner, was returning home when a mob stabbed him with a knife and then set him on fire. He managed to escape after jumping into a nearby pond, NDTV reported.
Das injured his lower abdomen and head. He was rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and is currently under medical care.
His family has demanded justice. “My husband is a simple man. He did not harm anybody, he did not hurt anybody. I don’t know who did this,” his wife was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Since December last year, Bangladesh has been witnessing violent attacks on Hindu minorities. Twenty five-year-old Dipu Chandra Das was lynched to death by a Muslim mob over alleged blasphemy accusations. His body was hung from a tree before being set on fire.
A week later, 29-year-old Amrit Mondal was killed in the Hossaindanga area of Kalimohar Union.
India has consistently condemned the attacks and raised safety concerns of Hindus, Christians and Buddhists.
However, the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs called New Delhi’s statement “incorrect, exaggerated and misleading.”
Exiled former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina attacked the Muhammad Yunus government, calling the deaths an absolute collapse of law and order and failing “to protect religious minorities and allow extremists to dictate foreign policy.”
