New Delhi/Dhaka: An atmosphere of chaos continues in Bangladesh. Minority Hindus are being continuously targeted. Security has been increased at the Indian Assistant High Commission office and visa application center in view of increased tension after the death of prominent youth leader Sharif Usman Hadi in Sylhet, Bangladesh.
According to Dhaka Tribune newspaper, Sylhet Metropolitan Police’s Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) Saiful Islam said that strict security measures have been taken so that no third party can take advantage of the situation. The interim government of Bangladesh said that 10 people have been arrested in connection with the lynching of a Hindu man. On Thursday, Dipu Chandra Das (25) was beaten to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy in Mymensingh city and his body was set on fire.
Those who have been made accused in the case include Mohammad Limon Sarkar (19), Mohammad Tarek Hussain (19), Mohammad Manik Mia (20), Irshad Ali (39), Nijum Uddin (20), Alamgir Hussain (38) and Mohammad Miraj Hussain Akon (46). Apart from this, Mohammad Ajmol Hasan Sagir (26), Mohammad Shahin Mia (19) and Mohammad Nazmul have also been kept in custody by the police. Interrogation of all these accused is going on.
Bangladesh Police said that the laborer Das was first beaten by the mob outside the factory on charges of blasphemy and then hanged from a tree. He said the mob left the body of the deceased on the side of the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway and later set it on fire.
Bangladesh based Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has expressed concern over the everyday worsening situation in Bangladesh. The organization has appealed to the government to take strict steps as soon as possible and take the minorities into confidence. He has also demanded immediate action against the culprits in this case. The organization said that through this case the culprits have tried to disturb communal harmony.
Nirupama Rao, who was India’s ambassador to America, has blamed western countries in her post on social media. He wrote that Sheikh Hasina’s foreign opponents looked at her from a narrow perspective. These countries disregarded the situation of Bangladesh and based their governance on Western democratic standards. According to him, staying in power for a long time, centralized power, human rights reports, all this was against Hasina. Rao wrote in his post that Bangladesh was assessed as if it were Denmark with voting problems, rather than a fragile, densely populated state with a violent Islamic history and a traumatized political culture. He said that Sheikh Hasina, no matter who she was, had kept the Jamaat and other anti-India forces under control.
On the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das in Bangladesh, Dr. Imam Omar Ahmed Ilyasi, Chief Imam of All India Imam Organisation, said, “Humanity has been tarnished. This is murder of humanity. The brutality with which the child was murdered and what was done to him after his death, hanging him from a tree, is absolutely wrong. Bangladeshis whom India has always helped, these ungrateful Bangladeshis have forgotten that India Where are those human rights organizations standing? What kind of Islamic teachings are they doing? Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah should intervene.
Commenting on the widespread violence that broke out in Bangladesh over the death of Usman Hadi, Dhaka Tribune editor Riyaz Ahmed said, “Making this incident an excuse, some unconcerned elements among the huge crowd of mourners and condolences resorted to extreme violence. The situation could have been handled better if the government had already taken preventive measures. We have set a very bad example as a nation. The state should not tolerate this.”
On the situation in Bangladesh, RJD MP Manoj Jha says, “The events taking place in Bangladesh are worrying. Even after the coup there, we had said that we should keep a close eye on the developments. I am almost shocked. The way the situation has unfolded, this region of South Asia needs to be monitored very carefully and seriously, and I expect and urge our government to take some proactive steps.”
