Bangladeshi Hindu businessman in critical condition after miscreants stab, try to set him on fire
International Hindu Council and Rashtriya Bajrang Dal Kashi burn an effigy of Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus during a protest condemning the killing of Hindus in Bangladesh, in Varanasi on Sunday. (ANI Photo) National::Rajesh KumarA Hindu businessman was allegedly attacked by a group of men in Bangladesh’s Shariatpur district. The victim, identified as Khokon Chandra Das, was attacked on the night of December 31.
Das, who runs a pharmacy in the Keorbhanga area of Kaneshwar union, was returning home when he was attacked.
Stabbed, tried to set ablaze
Local media, citing witnesses, reported that the attackers stabbed him indiscriminately with sharp weapons, leaving him seriously injured.
They also tried to set the 50-year-old on fire after dousing him with petrol.
Das reportedly jumped into a pond to save his life and called for help, after which some villagers rushed to the spot.
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Das, who sustained severe burn injuries to the face, right hand and several stab wounds, was initially taken to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital. But after his condition deteriorated, Das was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
Damudya Police Station Officer-in-Charge Rabiul Haque told Bangladeshi news portal The Business Standard that the attackers had come to the pharmacy with the intention to loot the store. However, when the pharmacist identified one of them, they tried to kill him.
Recent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh
The attack on Das is the fourth time in recent weeks that Hindus have come under assault in Bangladesh.
Earlier this week, a Hindu man was shot dead inside a garment factory in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district, in what the police say was a case of accidental fire by a colleague.
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Last week, a Hindu youth, identified as 29-year-old Amrit Mondal, was allegedly lynched by a mob in the Hossaindanga area of Kalimohar Union in Bangladesh.
Last month, a 25-year-old Hindu youth, Dipu Chandra Das, was lynched by a mob over false blasphemy accusations by a Muslim coworker at his factory in Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh.
The attacks come at a time when there are growing concerns about the safety of religious minorities in Bangladesh, which is ruled by an interim government following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024.