A 25-year-old Hindu factory worker was beaten to death and later burnt by a mob in Bangladesh after allegations of blasphemy surfaced in a locality of Mymensingh district. The incident has triggered fresh concern about the safety of religious minorities in the country.
The deceased has been identified as Dipu Chandra Das, who lived and worked in the Dubalia Para area of Square Master Bari in Mymensingh city. According to initial reports carried by local media, a group of people confronted Das near the factory premises late in the evening. The mob accused him of making remarks considered blasphemous. Soon, the situation escalated and violence followed.
Police officials from the Bhaluka Model Police Station said the mob first assaulted Das outside the factory. Officers said he was beaten severely and later hanged from a tree. The attackers then left the body on the side of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway. The police added that the crowd set the body on fire, which caused traffic to stop on both sides of the highway for some time. 
Abdul Malek, Inspector (Investigation) of the Bhaluka police station, told reporters that the police recovered the body and sent it to Mymensingh Medical College for post-mortem examination. “The incident caused tension in the area. Police personnel were deployed to bring the situation under control,” he said.
Videos reportedly showing parts of the incident began circulating widely on social media late Thursday and early Friday. The clips generated shock and fear, especially among minority communities who have been expressing concern over rising violence since political transition in the country earlier this year.
In a statement released by Bangladesh’s interim government on Friday, officials condemned the killing and said there would be zero tolerance toward mob violence. “The perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared,” the statement said. The government urged people not to take the law into their own hands and not to spread hatred or incitement.
