Bangladeshi Hindu youth Dipu Chandra Das’ co-workers allegedly joined the enraged Muslim mob in lynching him. Shocking details have emerged in the lynching of the 27-year-old Hindu youth who was employed at a garment factory named Pioneer Knitwears (BD) Limited in Dubaliapara area of Habirbari Union, Bhaluka, Mymensingh. Dipu Chandra Das was killed over blasphemy claims, regarding which no evidence has been found yet, as per Bangladeshi authorities.
12 people were arrested on Sunday December 21, in connection with the lynching of the Hindu youth in Bangladesh, The Daily Star newspaper reported, quoting police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) sources.
Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police officials have revealed that Dipu was forced to resign by factory supervisors and then handed over to the mob, which brutally assaulted and killed him, hung his body on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, and set fire to it, as reported by Bangladeshi media outlets.
The incident of beating and burning to death of Dipu Chandra Das in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, has caused a stir. Following the incident, local residents and Dipu’s factory colleagues are too scared to open up. The factory authorities claim that the mob could not be stopped even after calling the police. The police say that if they had been informed in time, his life could have been saved.
Das, who was lynched and killed on Thursday (December 16) following vague allegations of blasphemy. At a press conference in Mymensingh on Saturday, RAB-14 commander Naimul Hasan said the violence began inside the factory itself. Instead of calling the police and saving him, the youth was forced to resign by his factory supervisors, pushed out of his workplace, and handed over to an enraged mob of Islamists that beat him to death, hung his body and set fire to it. His colleagues reportedly joined the mob in killing him.
Dipu’s burnt body put on display for public: Father
The deceased Dipu Chandra was the son of Rabi Chandra Das of Mokamiakanda village in Banihala Union of Tarakanda Upazila. His brother, Opu Chandra Das, filed a case on Friday against 140 to 150 unidentified persons.
After lynching Dipu to death, the barbarism did not stop there; they hung his body from a tree and set it on fire. The group of fundamentalists then publicly displayed his burnt head and torso. Dipu Chandra Das’s father, Rabilal Das, described his son’s tragic fate. Not only his family, but the entire Hindu community in Bangladesh is terrified by Dipu’s fate.
Rabilal gave a detailed account of the events of that day in a media interview. He said, “We first learned about my son’s fate from Facebook. Rumours started circulating among our acquaintances. Half an hour after the incident, a relative came and informed me that they had taken my son away and tied him to a tree.” Describing the murder, Dipu’s father said, “After beating him to death, they hung his body from a tree and set it on fire. Then they tied the burnt head and body with a rope and left it outside so that everyone could witness the brutality. The sight was extremely horrific.”
Dipu’s father also raised questions about the security of minorities in Bangladesh. Even after such an incident, the government has not offered any condolences or assurance of support. Rabilal said, “Even after this incident, the government has not contacted us in any way. They haven’t even given us any assurance of security. We haven’t received any condolences from anyone.”
Violence following Sharif Osman Hadi’s death
Notably, Sharif Osman Hadi, the spokesperson of the Inqilab Mancha, died on Thursday night while undergoing treatment in Singapore. Following this incident, horrific violence erupted across Bangladesh. The wrath of this violence fell upon Dipu, a young Hindu man from the minority community. Dipu, a resident of Mokamiakanda village in Mymensingh, had been working in a factory in Bhaluka for the past two years.
On Thursday night, around 9:30 PM, a group of protesters suddenly attacked the factory. Vandalism ensued. Eyewitnesses claim that Dipu was dragged out of the factory. He was then lynched. Dipu died on the spot. After that, the angry mob took his body to the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway. They tied him to a tree and set him on fire, while chanting slogans. The entire road was blocked due to the incident. Later, the police arrived and brought the situation under control. However, the reason for his murder is still unclear. However, sources claim that Dipu was murdered because of offensive remarks about Islam. The victim’s family, however, refuses to accept this.
On Thursday night, Dipu Chandra Das, an employee of was dragged out of the factory, beaten, and killed on the accusation of blasphemy. Later, his naked body was hung from a tree on the divider of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and set on fire.
Eyewitnesses and factory workers scared to speak up
Eyewitnesses and factory workers are too scared to speak up, reports Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo. Attempts were made to learn about the incident by speaking to at least ten workers in front of the factory but no one was willing to talk. Some said they went home early that day. Others said they didn’t come to the factory that day. One worker, on condition of anonymity, said that the factory authorities have forbidden them from talking about the matter.
CCTV camera footage from the factory shows that around 8:30 PM on Thursday, a group of people from outside the factory were trying to break down the gate. At one point, they broke through the pocket gate and took Dipu Chandra Das away. Questions have arisen about how so many people gathered outside the factory gate during an incident that happened inside the factory.
Abu Taher (50), who has been running a grocery store in front of the factory for 12 years, told Prothom Alo, “At the time of the incident, I came out of the mosque and saw a commotion of people in front of the factory.” “We don’t understand who gathered the outsiders,” he added. “Killing a man like that was not right.”
Ambiguity surrounding blasphemy allegations
After arresting several people following Dipu’s murder, Bangladesh’s RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) stated in a press conference that the issue of blasphemy was very unclear. Although they tried to find out what Dipu had said, no one could tell them. They (RAB) would investigate whether he had any prior enmity with anyone. The person who initiated the incident has not been identified. However, the factory workers are saying something different.
Dipu Chandra Das joined the factory as a Junior Quality Inspector in September of last year. There were 400 workers on the floor where he worked. They claim that the incident started during a conversation between three workers while they were working in the factory on Thursday. These workers told Prothom Alo that during their conversation that day, Dipu made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. At that time, a quality inspector at the factory told him to stop saying such things and to go away. Later, when the matter spread throughout the entire floor, tension began to rise. However, they claimed that they do not know how the incident got outside the factory.
Statement from garment factory authority
Uday Hossain, the factory’s Senior Manager (Human Resources), told Prothom Alo, “Just before the Maghrib prayer that day, a heated argument broke out over derogatory remarks made about the Prophet Muhammad, which led to the entire floor becoming agitated…”
Tension spread throughout the floor. At that time, attempts were made to calm the situation by reasoning with everyone. To normalise the situation, a signature was taken on a fake resignation letter. The matter also spread outside. In that situation, we informed the industrial police and the local police station.’
Uday Hossain claimed, ‘It’s not that Dipu was forced out. The thing is, when a commotion started on the entire floor, we took him safely to the gate to get him out, so that he could leave safely. When the people outside would leave and the situation would normalize, he would go home. The situation was such that it wasn’t possible to get him out, and we didn’t get him out either. But at one point, the agitated crowd outside broke down the pocket gate and took him away.
There was nothing we could do.’ He said, ‘I don’t know how the people outside found out. Everyone has mobile phones, and because of technology, things spread in seconds. Somehow, it must have spread outside.’
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